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Students Lobby in Sacramento

Students in hallway of state capitol

March 20, 2019 - 11:59 AM

Three student leaders from Mt. SAC’s Political Science Club got first-hand experience in the realities of politics recently while lobbying California’s legislators to support their proposed composting initiative.

Amy Truong, Kian Bidari and Orlando Medina traveled to Sacramento to attend the 2019 Advocacy and Policy Conference, hosted by the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges.  

After meeting their peers from throughout the state, the students spent the day meeting with lawmakers and their aides to discuss a proposal to place composting bins in community college cafeterias. Mt. SAC faculty and deans also attended the conference and joined the students during their office visits.

“The students had this amazing opportunity to take a real idea and get people to listen to that idea and get feedback about how to move forward and areas that could be improved,” said Kelly Ann Rivera, political science professor and co-advisor to the Political Science Club.

Rivera, who accompanied the students on the trip, added: “They learned three big lessons: They got to pursue a policy idea that was meaningful to them to improve community college life. They got this experience going to an academic conference and learning about what other students are doing. And, they got to see how government works and see people only a few years older than them working in government and trying to figure out what that pathway was and how they also might be able to be a part of that.” 

Medina, one of the students, said, “One of the most interesting things about the trip was being able to meet other hard-working students in Sacramento. I was not expecting to have so much in common with the other students and it was incredible to share ideas with each other. It also made me realize that community college students can really make a difference in their schools and communities.”

Feedback from the legislators and aides was positive. “They were so enthusiastic to see students advocating for policy that mattered to students,” Rivera said.

Faculty and students in capitol office