Oct. 10, 2002

Contact: Jeff Allmon, Johanna Maska, or Claire Zeigler, Student Senate, (785) 864-3710.

KU, K-State students ready to vie in voter registration contest

LAWRENCE -- While their football teams clash in separate gridiron games this Saturday, the student governments of the University of Kansas and Kansas State University will face off in a voter registration drive competition.

At the KU homecoming football game against the University of Colorado in Lawrence and at the K-State contest with Oklahoma State University in Manhattan, student leaders will be registering voters at their respective games.

Voter registration at the KU game will begin at 11 a.m. outside Memorial Stadium.

According to student body presidents Zac Cook of K-State and Jonathan Ng of KU, the winner will be determined by which school collects the highest percentage of registrations in proportion to the attendance at their respective games. The student body president of the losing school will wear the colors of the winning school at the KU vs. K-State football game Nov. 2 in Lawrence.

K-State and KU officials applaud the friendly competition.

"We are really proud of our student leaders for taking civic responsibility to heart and mobilizing fellow students to register to vote," said Janet Murguia, KU executive vice chancellor for university relations. "Jayhawks and Wildcats everywhere will be cheering them on."

Bob Krause, vice president for institutional advancement at K-State, said, "The quality of leadership exhibited by our student body president, Zac Cook, and other student leaders on our campus gives me great faith for the future of our state and nation."

Student leaders are staging the contest to draw attention to voter registration campaigns on both campuses.

"This is a great opportunity to come together on an issue that affects all students, whether a Jayhawk or a Wildcat," said Jeff Allmon, community affairs director for the KU Student Senate. "This year's election is incredibly important for higher education."