City Council to declare student civic engagement month

Pittsburgh City Council will dedicate the month of September to increasing student civic… Pittsburgh City Council will dedicate the month of September to increasing student civic engagement at its meeting this morning in the City-County Building Downtown.

The dedication process, to be conducted in coordination with Pitt’s student government associations, will begin with a press conference at 9:30 a.m. outside of the Council Chamber.

At 1 p.m., the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and Student Government Board will host a reception to celebrate the announcement of “Student Civic Engagement Month” in the Frick Fine Arts Building’s Cloister.

Students on Pitt’s campus and in the city in general have had low turnout in recent elections.

The new campaign will aim to improve not just voting numbers, but participation in the city’s legislative process in general, SGB President Charlie Shull said.

GPSA president Nila Devanath said in a news release that the events will “mark a new era of civic engagement in Pittsburgh’s student population.”

Throughout the month and beyond, City Council will work with the newly-formed Pittsburgh Student Government Council, comprised of student representatives from 10 of the city’s major institutions of higher education.