Up to Us Kicks Off Nationwide College Campus Competition to Secure America’s Fiscal and Economic Future

73 Student Teams from Across the Country Compete to Increase
Awareness and Engagement on Fiscal Issues Among U.S. Millennials

Non-partisan Competition Begins its Fourth Year Today with “My Two
Cents Day”

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Up
to Us, a unique nationwide campus competition that gives young
leaders a voice on fiscal issues, begins its fourth year today. The
expanding non-partisan program includes student teams from 73 colleges
and universities in 28 states across the country. The competition kicks
off with the second annual My
Two Cents Day, a student-led day of mobilization to engage, educate
and inspire action among millennials, the generation most impacted by
the nation’s long-term fiscal and economic health.

The Up to Us competition, sponsored by the Peter
G. Peterson Foundation in partnership with the Clinton
Global Initiative University (CGI U) and Net
Impact, empowers student teams to create innovative campaigns to
raise awareness of our long-term fiscal challenges. As part of My Two
Cents Day, the inaugural event of Up to Us, teams will employ a number
of unique and engaging tactics, including:

• recording the “two cents” of thousands of their peers in portable
  photo booths, and sharing them in person and online
• gathering signatures to a non-partisan pledge that will be delivered
  to their elected representatives
• hosting a range of activities specific to each campus
• educating fellow students on the long-term national debt in creative
  ways

During last year’s My Two Cents Day, more than 8,000 students signed a
pledge raising awareness of the long-term national debt, tweeted the
hashtags #MyTwoCentsDay and #UpToUs more than 1,300 times, and shared
more than 1,000 photos in which they gave their views on the need to
address our fiscal challenges.

“Up to Us has increased in size each year, reflecting the growing
interest from millennials across the country on vital issues impacting
their future,” said Michael A. Peterson, President and CEO of the Peter
G. Peterson Foundation. “On this second annual My Two Cents Day,
Washington should take note of the passion, creativity and tenacity of
these young leaders, and hear their call to address our nation’s
long-term fiscal and economic challenges.”

My Two Cents Day launches the Up to Us competition, in which the teams
will develop and execute broader campus campaigns over three weeks in
February 2016. The campaigns will be reviewed by a panel of
distinguished judges on their effectiveness in raising awareness and
inspiring action on campus and beyond. Past judges include former U.S.
Senators Kent Conrad, Alan Simpson, and Olympia Snowe; Congressman
Joaquín Castro; Mick Cornett, Mayor of Oklahoma City; Chelsea Clinton;
Betty Liu, journalist and anchor of Bloomberg Television’s “In the
Loop”; and Ben Rattray, founder and CEO of Change.org.

The winning Up to Us team will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize and will
be recognized by President Clinton at the ninth annual CGI U meeting at
the University of California, Berkeley in April 2016. Additionally,
students from top teams will be invited to travel to Washington, DC to
meet with policy organizations, civic groups and leaders from across the
political spectrum to discuss millennials’ stake in fiscal issues, and
attend the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s 2016 Fiscal
Summit.

Each year, the Up to Us competition has significantly increased in size,
from 10 schools competing in 2013 to 73 schools competing this year,
reflecting increasing breadth and diversity of the participants. Since
the start of Up to Us, participants have partnered with more than 500
other campus groups to engage more than 40,000 people through in-person
activities and events, with hundreds of thousands more reached via
social media and digital outreach.

Previous winners include teams from the University of Virginia (2013),
the University of Texas-Pan American (2014), and Stockton University
(2015). In last year’s competition, teams developed a wide variety of
creative activities to engage and educate their peers, including hosting
substantive discussions with local elected officials, economists, and
entrepreneurs as well as social events such as debt bingo, a life-size
game of Monopoly incorporating fiscal trivia, and a Mardi Gras second
line parade to raise awareness of fiscal and economic issues.

The following schools will be competing in the 2015-2016 Up to Us
competition:

— Arizona State University			— North Carolina Central University
— Augsburg College			— Northeastern University
— Babson College			— Ohio Northern University
— Barnard College			— Ohio State University
— Bennett College			— Oklahoma State University
— Bentley University			— Ottawa University
— Berea College			— Pennsylvania State University – College Park
— Boise State University			— Pepperdine University
— Brigham Young University – Idaho			— Purdue University
— Buffalo State College			— Regent University
— California State University, Long Beach			— Saint Joseph’s University
— California State University, Los Angeles			— San Francisco State University
— Campbellsville University			— Southeastern Louisiana University
— Central State University			— Stockton University
— Christian Brothers University			— Sullivan University
— Claremont Graduate University			— Texas State University
— Clark Atlanta University			— Tusculum College
— Cleveland State University			— UCLA
— College of Coastal Georgia			— University of Minnesota Twin Cities
— College of William & Mary			— University of Arkansas – Fort Smith
— Columbus State University			— University of Central Florida
— Cornell University			— University of Illinois at Chicago
— De Anza College			— University of Illinois at Urbana – Champagne
— DePaul University			— University of Louisville
— Duquesne University			— University of Miami
— Emory University			— University of Michigan
— Emporia State University			— University of New Mexico
— Farmingdale State College			— University of North Carolina at Greensboro
— Gardner-Webb University			— University of San Diego
— Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis			— University of San Francisco
— Jackson State University			— University of Texas at Austin
— Kings College			— University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
— Lee College			— University of Texas – El Paso
— McLennan Community College			— West Virginia Wesleyan College
— Miami Dade College			— Westminster College
— New York University			— Yale College
— North Carolina A&T University

Follow the student-led activities this year using #MTCD and #UpToUs.

About Up to Us

Up to Us, a nationwide campus competition sponsored by the Peter
G. Peterson Foundation, in partnership with the Clinton
Global Initiative University (CGI U) and Net
Impact, provides an opportunity for students to build a
movement to raise awareness and engagement on America’s long-term fiscal
and economic challenges. 73 student teams selected from across the
country compete to design and run thought-provoking, fun and impactful
campaigns on the effects of rising debt on economic opportunity and
America’s future.

Contacts

Up to Us
Christina Saull, 202-518-6480
Christina.Saull@FinnPartners.com