Students will raise awareness of fiscal issues affecting millennials
Bellarmine's Up to Us team is Liz Escobar, Rebecca Spetz, Ken Buenker, Cathleen Jeanty and Shawn Pyne.
For a second straight year, a team of Bellarmine University students will take part in a national campus competition intended to give young leaders a voice on fiscal issues. Up to Us has doubled in size this year to 44 participating teams, with a shared goal of giving college students a more active role in determining the economic opportunities available to their generation.
The competition, sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative University and Net Impact, brings together students from colleges and universities across the country to increase awareness and engagement among their peers on an issue critical to their future: the nation’s long-term fiscal health and economic strength.
“Bellarmine's Up to Us team is incredibly excited to participate in the competition,” said Cathleen Jeanty, a senior English major who is the team’s leader. “We have a lot of ideas planned to mobilize our campus about the national debt. As students, we believe it is imperative that we become more engaged in the conversation about the national debt, as it is something we will inherit regardless of party affiliation or political ties. This will impact us all.”
In addition to Jeanty, Bellarmine’s team includes Liz Escobar, Shawn Pyne, Rebecca Spetz and Ken Buenker.
Bellarmine’s students are competing against teams from schools including Georgetown University, Morehouse College, Northwestern University, Yale University and the University of Louisville. See the full list of participants.
“We are excited to welcome a record number of students to the Up to Us competition this year,” said former president Bill Clinton. “This unique program helps students educate and motivate their peers on important fiscal issues. I look forward to meeting many of these talented students, America’s next leaders, at Clinton Global Initiative University 2015."
After a nationwide application process, 44 student teams from across the country were selected to participate in the competition. Each team will develop a campaign to educate and engage their campus community on America’s long-term fiscal challenges.
Campus campaigns will run from January 26 to February 20, 2015. In addition, on February 12, the teams will participate in a nationwide mobilization, in which they will join with students on additional campuses to send a message to policymakers about the importance of building a strong fiscal and economic future for the country.
At the end of the four-week campaign, each team will be assessed on their effectiveness in raising awareness and inspiring action on campus and beyond. The winning team will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize, in addition to being recognized by President Clinton at the upcoming Clinton Global Initiative University 2015 meeting.