Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus to Host Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries for
Special Presentation on ‘Constitution Day,’ Wednesday, September 17
- Discussion will highlight Campus-wide voter registration drive and education initiative -

Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries speaks to Brooklyn Campus students on Constitution Day.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – New York State Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries will promote political engagement in a presentation to students and community members at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus on Wednesday, September 17. The gathering is intended to mark the annual commemoration of Constitution Day and also help advance the Campus-supported voter registration drive targeting the national election on November 4.

Campus Provost Gale Stevens Haynes described the event as an important prelude to the national election this fall. “We want to encourage students and members of the Campus family to participate in the political process and contribute to the historic decision unfolding now in the United States,” she said, declaring, “We urge everyone who is eligible to vote to register, learn about the choices at hand, and go to the polls.”

Assemblymember Jeffries’ will speak at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17 in HS 119, the Senator Ralph J. Marion Lecture Hall, on the Brooklyn Campus at Flatbush and DeKalb avenues in downtown Brooklyn. The event is free and open to the public.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Hakeem Jeffries graduated from Midwood High School in 1988, earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with honors in 1992, and received his master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University in 1994. He attended New York University School of Law, where he served on the law review and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class in 1997. In 2006, he won the primary for State Assembly in the 57th District of Brooklyn and was sworn into office the following January.

“The Brooklyn Campus is fortunate to hear from our good friend, Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries, about what it means to participate in the presidential election,” said Chris Williams, associate vice president of government relations and public policy for Long Island University. “As a leading member of our Brooklyn community, Assemblymember Jeffries is well positioned to help students understand the issues and what is at stake in November.”

Rony Enriques, president of the Student Government Association and one of the registration campaign’s Campus organizers, said the drive was making progress. “Visits from elected officials and distinguished voices already have inspired Brooklyn Campus students to register to vote,” he exclaimed, adding, “Students realize that voting is an immediate, convenient and satisfying way to change their world.”

Students plan to register potential voters while Assemblymember Jeffries is on Campus and again on September 25, when an election forum is scheduled with representatives of the Obama and McCain campaigns. The representatives are expected to field questions from a panel of students on the stage of the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts.

Additional voter registration drives are planned for September 17, 22 and 24, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in front of Luntey Commons.

Posted: September 15, 2008

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