South Asian American students arrived at college campuses across the country this week to kick-off an initiative to mobilize hundreds of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to vote this November.

South Asian American students arrived at college campuses across the country this week to kick-off an initiative to mobilize hundreds of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to vote this November. These students are fellows of the South Asian American Voting Youth VOTE SAAVY Fellowship. Working with SAAVY’s leaders and political experts, the Fellows will run a ten-week campaign on their campuses to register and mobilize local South Asian voters.

The VOTE SAAVY Campaign will increase South Asian political participation by registering thousands of youth to vote at college campuses and cities with large South Asian populations. Target campuses include the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the University of Florida, Gainesville and target geographies include Atlanta, Ga. and New York City, N.Y.

Jaya Soni, a Vote SAAVY Fellow at the University of Michigan, is eager to get started on her campaign. This weekend Jaya and her co-coordinator Shiny Mathews, were registering voters in Ann Arbor at a local Raas dance competition, and will be working with over 50 South Asian campus groups.

The University of Florida Fellows, Akash Kuruvilla and Satish Kunisi will be working to throw a performance theatre event with hip hop and spoken word artists to educate students.

In Athens, Ga., Fellow Krishan Bhima is bringing together a group to discuss the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001 and its backlash in hate crimes on our community. The discussion will culminate with a voter registration bhangra party. Bhima and SAAVY Fellow Karthik Nishan has already registered more than 100 South Asian voters in Atlanta on Indian Independence Day.

SAAVY Fellows are using new methods to reach out to the youth community, registering voters at South Asian clubs, working with the South Asian fraternity Sigma Beta Rho, coordinating with national Gandhi Day efforts, and working with local mosques, gurdwaras and temples.

SAAVY Executive Director Tanzila “Taz” Ahmed is 25 years old and founded the organization last fall to build her community’s power. Ahmed noted that in only one year, SAAVY grew from an idea to a registered organization with a national network of trainers, hundreds of members and trained more than 300 South Asian students in political organizing.

“Whether it be for South Asian youth issues like high cost of education, racial profiling and affirmative action, our voice is not yet strong enough to be heard.” Taz Ahmed comments. “SAAVY promotes politics as a tool to get our issues raised and give us political power. The Vote SAAVY campaign of registering and mobilizing voters is just one step in getting our issues heard.”