New York City, NY

Saturday, October 13, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



On the week of September 23rd, 2012 the Carnegie Vanguard and San Marcos Junior Statesmen of America chapters held voter registration drives across the state of Texas. With Carnegie's being at Discovery Green, and San Marcos's being held at their own high school, the registration drives were a great success, and many new voters will be casting their ballots in this upcoming election.

For more than two hours on the afternoon of September 30th, passionate students from Carnegie Vanguard High School stayed at the packed park of Discovery Green. Having packed up bags full of voter registration cards, pens, and posters, the students carried their large and flashy signs advertising voter registration and "Being The People" to urge citizens to vote. There was an abundance of citizens who were unregistered, yet itching to get their vote out, and gladly accepted the voter registration cards. The staff at the park even offered the students free coffee, and even those who could not vote yet promised to vote in the future.

In San Marcos High School, students set a booth up during lunch on September 26th to register their fellow high school seniors. The students showed urged the seniors to not just vote, but to be knowledgeable about their decision this November as well. Austin Bryan, Speaker of the House for the Texas Junior State, commenting on the importance of youth involvement in politics, says: "we inherit the debt, we inherit the global image, we inherit the economy. These problems affect us now—more youth need to get involved in doing something to solve them."

The Carnegie and San Marcos chapters urge other chapters to organize similar events, since political activism events are a fun and productive way to spread the message of JSA. Becoming involved in the community is vital for the complete success of Junior Statesmen, ands it is something that the Junior Statesmen do well. Indre Altman, Carnegie chapter vice president and Texas Publicity director, says, "In Junior Statesmen, we do our best to promote political awareness in our communities. Even a few events a year can really help all of us to 'Be The People,' and make a difference. That's what we're about."

Junior State of America (JSA): JSA's mission is to strengthen American democracy by educating and preparing high school students for life-long involvement and responsible leadership in a democratic society. In the student-run Junior State and at JSA summer schools and summer institutes, participants learn statesmanship as they engage in political discourse. –Should use the standard JSA pitch Jeff included in previous email: Providing civics education and leadership programs for nearly 80 years, JSA is the largest student-run organization in the United States. School-year programs take place in more than 450 secondary schools in 35 states, with more than 10,000 members. The JSA program is supported by the Junior Statesmen Foundation Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational corporation, which provides guidance to JSA's student leaders. It has offices in San Mateo, Calif., and Washington, D.C. More information is available at http://www.jsa.org/ or jsa@jsa.org.

Jack Cahn

National Director of Public Relations

Junior State of America

New York City, NY