DUSA mobilises Election Champions

Published On Thu 2 Apr 2015 by Grant Hill

Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) has mobilised a team of ‘Election Champions’ to ensure its members know how to register to vote and exercise their democratic right in the run up to 7th May.

Political parties have officially begun vying for the public’s support, but many students have fallen off the electoral register, and DUSA is aiming to reverse this trend before 20th April when registration closes.

With funding from National Union of Students and the UK Cabinet Office, they have appointed a student team who will be promoting registration to students over the next three weeks. The team of six Election Champions will visit student halls in the city to raise awareness and encourage students to register as well as conducting awareness-raising activity on and off campus.

Team member Niall Christie said, “Dundee has long had a history of good engagement in politics. The real target is ensuring students don't fall off the radar and lose their suffrage. We do matter, we do care, and we do want to be heard. Let's make sure everyone has their voice.

“Students at our University make up more than 10 per cent of our city’s population. By making sure that those students who are eligible to vote are registered we are making sure that we, as an electorate, are represented as best we can come May 7th.”

DUSA will once again be a polling station on election day as it has been for the last European Election and the Independence Referendum. The organisation is also carrying out promotional work online providing important information on who can register, how to do it and informing students of #GenerationVote and #RegisterToVote.

DUSA will continue to promote engagement with the General Election after the deadline, with a debate featuring all candidates standing for Dundee West on 30th April in Air Bar. DUSA’s societies are also hosting a debate with candidates in the University’s Dalhousie Building on 23rd April.

DUSA President Iain MacKinnon said, “Engaging students with democratic representation is one of our key objectives in DUSA. The General Election is a real chance for the student voice to be heard at a national level and with Dundee being such an important battleground there’s a chance for us to make a real difference. The Referendum engaged students like never before, and we want that to continue long into the future.”

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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