The Union of Students in Ireland has appealed to students to vote in the Nice referendum on October 19th, but has stopped short of making any specific recommendation.
Mr Colm Jordan, president of the USI, told the last conference of the National Forum on Europe that levels of understanding about the Nice Treaty remained unacceptably low and represented a challenge for the Referendum Commission.
The latest research showed that only 16 per cent felt they understood adequately the subject matter of the referendum.
Several simple steps could be taken to ensure that more young people used their vote, Mr Jordan told the forum, which was held on Monday in Galway on the theme of "Young People in an Enlarging Europe".
The USI had consistently appealed to political parties and the Referendum Commission to distribute pre-election or referendum materials at college campuses and student accommodation complexes.
There also needed to be a fresh drive to register new voters, Mr Jordan said. This could be done by sending a basic "tick the box" form to every citizen on their 18th birthday so that this right was made easily available to them. "By returning an enclosed postcard, registration could be completed," he suggested.
The USI also hoped that Saturday voting was not the "exception" rather than the rule.
The National Forum on Europe has completed its five-week tour of the State after 16 meetings, including four national conferences under the chairmanship of Senator Maurice Hayes.
