We were recently mentioned in the 2013 Annual Report for our Rock the Vote Campaign. It means a lot to us that our efforts are not only recognized, but also felt by the entire SUNY Oswego community.
Here’s the what our administration had to say about student involvement, engagement, and collaboration between organizations. It’s been nearly two years since our campaign, but we are still thankful for all of the organizations who played a huge role in making Rock the Vote at SUNY Oswego the success that it was.
For the full annual report, click here.
Serving and solving
“From strengthening democracy to advancing health and safety, from developing new educational tools to aiding disaster stricken families, members of our college community played constructive roles in the wider world in 2012-13.
WTOP election night broadcast
As the academic year began, the 2012 election was on the horizon and the college‘s Civic Engagement Coalition coordinated its first comprehensive voter registration and education campaign. Film and discussion series, a debate and other events built engagement with the democratic process and registered more than 1,300 voters. The project culminated in an election night party in the Campus Center as returns rolled in.
Some 70 students representing student media WTOP-TV, WNYO-FM and the Oswegonian covered election night like never before, filling four hours of live air with remote broadcasts, roundtable discussion and constant updates via social media, providing Oswego County‘s only TV coverage and streaming it online. “There‘s nothing ‘student’ or ‘pretend’ or ‘practice’ about what we just did,” WTOP-TV station manager Ben Gordon said with pride as the marathon telecast wound down.
SUNY Oswego was named to the 2013 President‘s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for the third consecutive year. Oswego was one of under a hundred institutions to achieve the national designation. Highlighted were the college‘s Mentor-Scholar Program, Alternative Break volunteer program and disaster relief projects.
“We just really love helping other people,” student group leader Sophie Marsden told an Alabama TV reporter interviewing her about a Habitat for Humanity project. She led a dozen Oswego students building a house in the Shoals during their alternative spring break. “It‘s just super important to show how much we can actually give back to somebody else.”
Closer to home, the college community mounted a quick response to New Yorkers whose lives and livelihoods were disrupted by Superstorm Sandy. Students and staff held fundraisers and food drives, and the college‘s Small Business Development Center helped business owners apply for disaster assistance.”
