The Florida College System 聽announced a new partnership that will take the voter registration service to 28 state colleges, increasing the total number of participating institutions in Florida to 35. 聽

Since 2012, more than 11,000 Florida students have used the TurboVote service through partnerships at colleges and universities,including those established at the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida and the Lou Frey Institute for Politics and Government at the 麻豆原创. Nearly 1,600 麻豆原创 students have registered for the service.

Former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham voiced his support Saturday for the bipartisan effort to institutionalize voter engagement on college and university campuses and noted that Florida is well positioned to lead the charge.

鈥淚 believe Florida has established itself as model for the rest of the country,鈥� Graham said to an audience of more than 200 at the 2014 Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Civic Learning and Democratic and Engagement Conference.

鈥淏y integrating the TurboVote service into critical student interactions we were able to register more than 3,400 University of Florida students last year,鈥� the Democrat said. 鈥淲e have seen first-hand the substantial impact this can have on youth engagement.鈥�

Former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey, a Republican and longtime supporter of the TurboVote effort, echoed Graham鈥檚 sentiments on the importance of providing young people with easy access to the tools they need to be active participants in their democracy. Frey sponsored legislation leading to the adoption of the 26th聽Amendment in 1970s that lowered the voting age to 18.

鈥淭he adoption of TurboVote by the Florida College System provides a clear pathway for a lifetime of participation by the state鈥檚 youngest citizens,鈥� Frey said. 鈥淚 challenge every student to help shape the future of America by voting in every election.鈥�

Florida鈥檚 higher-education institutions hope to break down barriers to youth participation in the democratic process, particularly around local elections. While nearly two-thirds of college students voted in November 2012, only 27 percent did so in 2010. And turnout drops even lower in primary and municipal elections.

“TurboVote鈥檚 role is especially important in the years between the presidential elections, where much of democracy happens on the local level,鈥� said Alberto Ibarg眉en, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, one of TurboVote鈥檚 early funders. 鈥淭he lack of youth participation in local elections is not a partisan issue 鈥� it is a threat to democracy. To have a healthy democracy we need an informed an engaged public.鈥�

According to a study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, 27 percent of students who did not register in 2012 simply failed meet the deadline, and 23 percent of registered students did not cast a ballot because they were out of town or away from home. By helping students request an absentee ballot and sending text and email reminders with election dates and deadlines, TurboVote addresses logistical challenges that negatively impact youth participation.

TurboVote鈥檚 college partnerships program has grown to include more than130 institutions nationwide since its launch in January 2012.

To access TurboVote, go to .

麻豆原创 President John C. Hitt, former U.S. Rep. Lou Frey, 麻豆原创 alumni Albert Henry Marshall and Priscilla Getchell, and scholarship donor Vince Amico were inducted today into the new National Center for Simulation鈥檚 Modeling and Simulation Hall of Fame.

Joining some of the Army, Air Force and Navy鈥檚 earliest pioneers of simulation, the five with 麻豆原创 ties were honored during a ceremony at the Orange County Convention Center, the home of the new hall of fame.

Hitt, who has served 22 years as 麻豆原创鈥檚 president, was honored for leadership in advancing academic excellence in the field and for creating 鈥渁n environment of partnerships, discovery and research.鈥�

During his tenure, the university has constructed three partnership buildings in the Central Florida Research Park. 麻豆原创鈥檚 Institute for Simulation and Training and U.S. military agencies share the partnership buildings, which have helped the university and military expand research in areas such as medical simulation, high-performance computing and mobile applications for training.

鈥淭ogether, our efforts at the Central Florida Research Park highlight a model alliance that is not replicated anywhere else,鈥� Hitt said. 鈥淲e are a vital force for expanding the economic prosperity of Central Florida and of our great state, and we help prepare America鈥檚 warriors for their challenges in protecting the freedoms of us all.鈥�

Frey, who founded 麻豆原创鈥檚 Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government, was recognized for his fight to keep the Naval Training Device Center in Orlando in 1971. His efforts as a second-term congressman helped to keep in Orlando the entity that has since thrived and become the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, or NAWCTSD.

Marshall, who earned a master鈥檚 degree in electrical engineering from 麻豆原创 in 1973, was recognized posthumously for 鈥渉is service to the nation as an engineer, physicist and inventor for the U.S. Navy.鈥� He held more than 30 patents and was a pioneer for breakthroughs that led to substantial changes in live training and virtual-target systems.

Getchell, who graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in education in 1982, was recognized for her service as a member of the U.S. Navy Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES). She was a ground school instructor during World War II, and she helped train hundreds of Navy pilots. She achieved the rank of chief petty officer after only three years of service.

Amico, a 麻豆原创 honorary-degree recipient who has established a scholarship for 麻豆原创 modeling and simulation students, was honored for 鈥渁 lifetime of dedicated service to the nation in conducting research, engineering and systems acquisition of simulators for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Army.鈥� He introduced new digital technology and sensor simulations, and he improved visual systems for training devices, making military training more effective.

The other five inductees were:

Or another ex-legislator explain that strong lobbyists are a good thing. And another who laments that in today鈥檚 world: 鈥淭he noise of democracy is like fingernails on a blackboard.鈥�

These and other candid commentaries from former U.S. senators and representatives are the fabric of a new educational resource developed by the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the 麻豆原创.

The Civics Connection: Conversations with Congress was developed by the institute and the United States Association of Former Members of Congress for high school and college-level American government courses. The video interviews also are accessible to anyone who would like to hear insider perspectives on how policies are developed and how the business of government works.

鈥淚t is, in a sense, a living textbook on American government and politics,鈥� Lou Frey Jr., a Florida representative from 1969 to 1979, wrote in his introduction to the course. The institute, which he founded, strives to engage citizens to become active and responsible in government.

Frey said The Civics Connection鈥� s roots go back to when he was a novice congressman. He said there were a lot of government practices and procedures that he previously had never been exposed to, and 鈥淚 made a vow to myself not to let that happen to others.鈥�

Over the years he has developed intern and educational programs for students, but the impetus for this latest project came about three years ago when a report ranked Florida fifth worst in 鈥渃ivic stupidity,鈥� he said.

Project director Terri Susan Fine, a 麻豆原创 professor of Political Science and associate director of the institute, traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this year to tape the series of 15-minute interviews with former lawmakers who volunteered to be a part of the project. The 16 segments include teacher-support materials aimed at helping students understand the subjects.

Each interview pairs a Democrat and a Republican, with terms ranging up to 30 years in Congress. Interviews deal with issues such as political parties and interest groups, campaigning, landmark public policies, impeaching the president, and budget earmarks.

Fine said she was impressed by the lawmakers鈥� candor on the occasionally delicate topics.

Topics were chosen, in part, to align with high school Advanced Placement courses on government and politics, but the materials also are useful for other history and government classes. The project, which is under the auspices of the nonprofit College Board, is an example of using technology to help students develop a deeper understanding of the subjects, said Doug Dobson, the institute鈥檚 executive director.

The interviews and other free materials available to teachers can be found at .

The institute plans to tape additional interviews and add new topics to the site.

As for that fingernails-on-the-blackboard description of democracy, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, who served in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, said in one interview that today鈥檚 political parties don鈥檛 use the system to achieve the best for the country, but rather to defeat the other side.

鈥淧olitics has changed a lot and the country is worse off for it,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause what our country needs at the moment is some very important nurturing by the political system making good decisions about putting the country on track and moving the country ahead.鈥�

I am an advocate of vigorous and healthy debates about international trade and foreign policy, but the demagoguery that has crept into Congressional deliberations on US-China relations 鈥� during the recent currency bill vote, China鈥檚 leadership was derided as a 鈥渃lique of gangsters鈥� 鈥� is unhealthy for our country, for the international system we have championed and led since World War II, and for the people of the United States and China.

The problem with this popular sport of 鈥渂eggar thy neighbor鈥� to raise funds and ensure votes, is that often the neighbor doesn鈥檛 realize it鈥檚 a sport. Pundits in the US watch the Congressional votes against China and opine that the legislation is likely going to end up dying in the Senate (like the biannual politically-charged vote on the 鈥淎rmenian Genocide鈥� resolution). Americans understand what that means, and can agree or disagree as they like. But in other countries like China, where they don鈥檛 understand the clear difference between resolutions and bills or binding and nonbinding, and don鈥檛 have a similar separation of powers where the administration and Congress could be entirely at odds on any given day, the nuances of our system are quite literally lost in translation. The Chinese walk away thinking Americans view them as gangsters, because that鈥檚 what they read in our newspapers.

That is not to say that our policy toward China should be one of passivity or complacence. We need to have more serious and open discussions about these issues, not Congressional hearings that set the 鈥淎merican worker鈥� versus the 鈥淐hinese government鈥� and create false dichotomies that tragically simplify important issues. For the same reason that we bemoan the lack of civility between Democrats and Republicans today, we should also be wary of leaving civility at the wayside when dealing with an extraordinarily complex country like China, which claims the world鈥檚 second-highest GDP as of 2010, but whose citizens barely crack the top 100 in GDP per capita.

We forget, in our rush to score political points, how much a developing China is a driver of the global economy. Many US states are in fact enjoying booming trade with China, including Louisiana, Ohio, and North Carolina. In total, 47 states have registered triple-digit export growth to China since 2000, and 19 states now export more than $1 billion to China each year. What would a trade war do to them? What would a trade war do to our military ties or our cultural ties? On the flip side, what are the reasons that China does not want to revalue its currency right now? What are their concerns about domestic stability and job creation that lead them to embrace exports? These are the questions that I never saw asked as Congress prioritized grandstanding over responsible policymaking.

I am trying to do my part to foster civil dialogue and debate as the founder of a political institute at the 麻豆原创. I am hosting a day-long symposium in April 2011 that will tackle the key issues in the US-China relationship, to be presented to nearly 1,000 students and to be broadcast over the web to students and policymakers around the world. We won鈥檛 whitewash the issues, and we won鈥檛 exclude viewpoints. We will invite Chinese and American politicians, academics and businessmen to have a free and unfettered debate. And I believe that we will learn more, at the end of the day, than anyone ever could through an exercise in political demagoguery. Importantly, we will still respect each other when the day is over.

Too many politicians believe that playing off the fears of voters is the best path towards election, not realizing that the entire world is listening to their harsh or irresponsible statements. Politicians are public servants and have a duty to tell voters the truth. The truth of the matter here is that China is a serious competitor to the United States. But there are opportunities for both parties to benefit. Before we vent our anger at China through legislation and insults on the record, we need to have a much more serious, substantial, and public debate to educate Americans and their policymakers about the true, complex, evolving nature of the US-China relationship.

Lou Frey served in Congress as a Republican from the state of Florida from 1969-1979, and is a past president of the US Association of Former Members of Congress. He is founder and president of the Lou Frey Institute of Politics and Government at the 麻豆原创. He has traveled to China in three different decades.

Source: The Hill, Campaigning against China, by Lou Frey – 10/05/10 10:05 AM ET

The symposium also will be available via a live webcast on the institute’s Web site, .