[Antiracism] Deval Patrick To Speak at UMass Amherst - TUES 10/31/06 AT 3PM IN CURRY HICKS CA

[Mishy Leiblum]

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***Please forward widely ***
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Deval Patrick to Speak at UMass-Amherst
Tuesday, October 31st at 3pm in the Curry Hicks Cage
(102 Hicks Way, Amherst MA 01003)
Doors Open at 2:30pm

Hosted by the UMass-Amherst Student Government Association
To volunteer, contact sga at stuaf.umass.edu with "VOLUNTEER" in the header.


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Contact:
Elvis Mendez, Student Government Association President
413.545.1287
sga.president at stuaf.umass.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UMASS AMHERST STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION TO HOST DEVAL PATRICK AND TIM 
MURRAY ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31ST AT 3PM

Candidates Will Discuss Their Vision For Education, Health Care, and the 
Economy

AMHERST – The University of Massachusetts Student Government Association 
will host a "Fresh Start for Massachusetts" community meeting with 
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick and his running mate for 
lieutenant governor, Tim Murray. This meeting will take place on Tuesday, 
October 31st at 3pm at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMASS Amherst located at 102 
Hicks Way in Amherst. Doors open at 2:30pm.

At the meeting, Patrick and Murray will discuss their vision for education, 
health care and the economy in Massachusetts. They will speak and answer 
citizens' questions in an open forum. The meeting is free and open to the 
public.

According to SGA President Elvis Mendez, a junior from Framingham, 
Massachusetts, "We are excited to host these candidates and to discuss their 
stand on public higher education in Massachusetts." While Mendez has invited 
all the major candidates to speak on campus, he is awaiting replies from the 
Healey, Ross and Mihos campaigns.

According to Mendez, "We see this as a way to engage students in the 
political process. Over the past three weeks, a coalition of students and 
faculty has registered over 1,600 students to vote in Massachusetts, and 
we've mailed in hundreds of absentee ballot requests. As tuition and fees 
skyrocket and the amount of faculty stagnate, students are increasingly 
concerned about the future of public higher education in our state. We 
anticipate that these concerns will be translated into action in these 
upcoming elections."

While Mendez notes that the recent voter registration drive has been 
non-partisan, he is clear that students are looking for candidates that 
"understand the issues facing young people in the commonwealth." When asked 
about his vision for public higher education, Mendez states, "We need a 
system of public higher education that is fully accessible and fully funded. 
We need to put teachers back in classrooms, we need functional facilities, 
we need to expand outreach efforts, and ultimately we need to provide free 
public higher education for all."

Contact sga at stuaf.umass.edu for more information. UMass students and 
community members who wish to volunteer at this event may email 
sga at stuaf.umass.edu with the subject "VOLUNTEER" in the header.

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