Up to Us: Batten Students Spearhead Award-Winning Debt Awareness Campaign

FIVE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA STUDENTS won a nationwide competition to engage and educate college students about the federal government’s long-term debt.

The U.Va. students—Joshua Lansford, Alan Safferson, Lena Shi, Ryan Singel, and Amara Warren—made up one of 10 university teams that took part in the first-of-its-kind, six-week Up to Us competition, which challenged the teams to bring the debt discussion to their peers through independently designed campaigns. Shi, Safferson, and Singel are currently second-year students in the accelerated BA/MPP program at the Batten School.

The students from U.Va. were recognized by former President Bill Clinton this April at the annual Clinton Global Initiative University student meeting in St. Louis, where they were awarded the $10,000 prize. U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) also hosted 13 student-organizers of Up to Us campaigns at his Washington, D.C., office following the results, including the full U.Va. delegation.

“The Up to Us competition proves that students can play an important role in addressing our nation’s economic challenges,” Clinton said. “The young people who participated in this competition brought passion, energy, and creativity to solving one of our most urgent issues, and raised awareness in their own schools and communities.”

The competition judges singled out the U.Va. team for the impact of its innovative campaign. The team spent roughly 550 hours organizing 20 major events, including a rally at the Rotunda; a “HOOs Talking About the National Debt” discussion led by three faculty experts; screening a documentary film about the debt, “I.O.U.S.A.”; and a savings workshop, said team co-leader Shi, who earned her BA in global development studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. “I’m very proud of this team’s creative efforts to address one of the biggest challenges our nation faces,” U.Va. President Teresa A. Sullivan said.

The team brought Sen. Warner to U.Va. on Feb. 11 to discuss the debt. After speaking with a crowd of more than 500 people, Warner, who sits on the Senate Budget Committee, praised the team as an example of what college students can achieve, saying, “The U.Va. students got me energized, ready to go back to the Hill and keep fighting.”

Shi said she was most proud of “seeing how students’ voices came to life through this campaign. Students took the initiative to learn about this issue, grew to see its relevance to their education and future, and then worked to spread the word to others.” 


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