Jessica Dawson is a first-time voter with a cause.

On Nov. 7, the 18-year-old Virginia Tech student will vote an emphatic yes on the proposed Virginia constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only a union between a man and a woman and ban any union that mimics marriage, such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. But before she votes her conscience, Dawson hopes to sway other Virginia voters -- especially her fellow college students -- to support the amendment, too.

"I think it's really important for everyone to protect the holy sacrament of marriage, to protect our culture for the future," Dawson said.

Debate about the proposed amendment has been simmering around the state for months. College students are just now joining the conversation, as student advocates for and against the amendment marshal their resources.

And while it's unclear just how much buzz the issue is generating on campuses, with a little less than a month before Election Day, students around Virginia are handing out literature, sponsoring lectures and planning debates on campus about the issue.

Christina Pena, the president of Young Democrats at Virginia Tech, said she is concerned about adding language to the constitution that limits rights. She also believes the amendment is vague and could have negative consequences for straight as well as gay couples.

"We see it as writing hate into the constitution," Pena said.

On campus, the opposition tends to pull from Democratic, Libertarian, women's and gay student groups. They are working with the Commonwealth Coalition, the main group pushing for the amendment's defeat.

The vote-yes campaign is generally drawing supporters from Republican, Catholic and other Christian student groups. These students have formed chapters of Students-4-Marriage at 20 colleges and universities throughout Virginia. Students-4-Marriage is affiliated with Va4marriage, the grass-roots group lobbying for the amendment.

Students-4-Marriage already has chapters at Roanoke College, Hollins University, Liberty University, the University of Virginia and Tech, where Dawson is the student coordinator.

Nick Timpe, the state director for the group and a junior at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, said the issue of marriage is of paramount importance for his generation because traditional marriage is the basis for society.

Timpe said adding the definition of marriage to the state's constitution will prohibit judges from overturning the Virginia statute that already outlaws same-sex marriage. Marriage is not being threatened now in Virginia, he said, but it is important to pre-empt any future attacks on it.

Timpe is planning events at George Mason University and Virginia Tech, but he wouldn't give specifics because the exact events and dates have not been confirmed.

Several of the vote-no supporters have already sponsored campus events.

On Sept. 14, representatives from the Commonwealth Coalition spoke at Virginia Tech about the amendment. Young Democrats at Virginia Tech have been giving out literature every other Wednesday about the election, making sure to tell students why they should consider voting against the amendment.

The marriage amendment will be part of the annual debate at Tech between the Young Democrats and the College Republicans. That event is planned for 8 p.m. on Oct. 30.