EVAN CARAVELLI/Arizona Daily Wildcat From right, president of the UA College Republicans Danielle Roberts, president of the UA Young Democrats Alicia Cybulski and student body President Alistair Chapman receive the first Young American Award as a result of their efforts to increase civic engagement on campus.

Following the Associated Students of the University of Arizona's effort to invoke civic engagement during the presidential election, the group received a new award created specifically for their work.

ASUA, The UA Young Democrats and the UA College Republicans were all presented with the award at halftime at Thursday's men's basketball game.

F. Ann Rodriguez, Pima County recorder, presented the first Young American Award, because their efforts this year were unparalleled in Arizona history, Rodriguez said in a press release.

"We should all be proud of these young people for their efforts in presenting their viewpoints to Arizona citizens. They demonstrated passion in their political beliefs," Rodriguez said.

ASUA was given the top honor, and the College Republicans and Young Democrats each received an honorable mention.

Rodriguez said she created the award to commend political activism and leadership applied by student groups on campus.

Rodriguez said the groups earned the recognition through months of dedicated work, including planning details and bringing political discussion to campus.

The student government worked with Rodriquez, who oversees all Pima County voting sites, before the fall semester to get an early voting site on campus for the Nov. 2 elections, said Alistair Chapman, ASUA president.

"The activism, and the passion especially - that was the kicker," Rodriguez said.

Alicia Cybulski, president of the Young Democrats, said that she and Danielle Roberts, president of the College Republicans, were given tickets to the basketball game by Rodriguez so they could be there to receive the award.

Cybulski, who is graduating in May and has been president of the Young Democrats for two years, said the award was a good way to end her involvement with the club.

"Even though we were disappointed with the result of the election, it's good to know our efforts are not in vain," Cybulski said.

Cybulski said she hopes her club's activism encouraged students to be civically engaged by learning about important issues and getting involved.

Roberts said she was honored to receive the award on behalf of her club and was pleased with the hard work devoted to the past presidential election.

The College Republicans registered hundreds of voters on campus and volunteered almost 5,000 hours promoting a republican election, Roberts said.

The award is an encouragement to continue the work the club is doing, Roberts said.

"We will continue to encourage our fellow students to let their voices be heard by registering to vote and holding elected officials accountable to young people," Roberts said in an e-mail.

Rodriguez said both political clubs' efforts to increase voter participation and establish an early voting site on campus would not have worked without the work of ASUA.

"(The ASUA members) were so pleasant and so cooperative," Rodriguez said. "We were so busy we had no lunch, no breaks and we couldn't have done it without their help."

In order to accommodate all Pima County voters, Chapman made arrangements with Parking and Transportation Services so voters would not have to pay for parking while they voted, Rodriguez said.

There were nine on-campus voting booths, even though they could have brought more, Rodriguez said.

"We were treading unknown territory, so we didn't know how many voters to expect," Rodriguez said.

Nearly 2,500 people voted at the early polling site, with more than 300 people waiting in line at times. Many students waited for two or three hours to vote, Chapman said.

Rodriguez said she is looking forward to see UA students' participation in the intense campaigns for the 2006 and 2008 elections.