by: Emma Fleming
On Tuesday, April 9, two Parkland Student Government members participated in the organization’s first ever Student Advocacy Day at the Illinois State Capitol, and I was able to document their experience. The event was organized by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). According to the ICCB website, Illinois community college students, “chose to advocate for additional community college funding and educating the new administration on the importance of a community college education.” Newly elected Student Trustee for Fall 2019, Lydia Gallaher, and current President, Joe Smith, attended the event with intentions of doing just that, advocating for community college funding to local representatives and senators.
The early morning began as Gallaher and Smith, and Evila Newman, the Coordinator and Conduct Officer of Student Life, conducted a short briefing of the key points that were to be raised to the legislators they met with. With the guidance of Newman, Gallaher and Smith outlined the major talking points which included the Equalization Grant, MAP Grants and ways to prevent Illinois community colleges from raising tuition, as Parkland will mostly likely run a deficit soon, along with other Illinois community colleges.
After arriving in Springfield, the student trustee and current president took part in the opening ceremony of the event, where they met with other Illinois community college students who were advocating for similar issues and bills. Following the opening ceremony, the different colleges dispersed and began heading to their appointments with the legislators. Gallaher and Smith were able to book appointments with Senator Chapin Rose, Senator Jason Barickman, Senator Scott Bennet, Representative Carol Ammons, and Representative Dan Caulkins.
The first legislator the student government members went to see was Senator Chapin Rose. Gallaher prepared a statement about obtaining more funding, and Senator Rose was uneager to listen to the student trustee. In the middle of Gallaher’s statement, Senator Rose claimed he had somewhere else to be. As this was the first meeting, the interaction left the student government members slightly disheartened, as it seemed like a dead end.
However, Senator Scott Bennett proved to be willing to listen. Smith took the lead in this discussion and asked the senator what was being done to provide community colleges with proper funding. Senator Bennett mentioned that the government is currently taking steps in the right direction with the proposal of bills like House Bill 2691, which will provide undocumented immigrants and transgender students with financial aid for higher education. He seemed willing to listen to the requests of the representatives from Parkland’s Student Government, and explained that change will happen, just not overnight. Senator Bennett encouraged all students to reach out to local media when they see an issue so government officials can hear their concerns.
Likewise, Representative Ammons expressed a willingness to hear what the student government members had to say. Although the interaction was short, Ammons took note of what Parkland’s student body wanted, along with Representative Caulkins.
The Capitol was flooded with lawyers, lawmakers, advocates and lobbyists, and even though the day was hectic, the student government members gained experience and knowledge from the event. “It was mixed experience. Some parts of the day were disheartening, and others were pleasantly surprising.” Smith said. “The best part was collaborating with other students and the staff that went, talking through our preconceived notions and discussing how we’d approach the differing politicians. Hearing different ideas on things we all care about is very refreshing.”
When asked about how he felt about the interactions with the different senators and representatives, Smith told the Prospectus, “That was another mixed experience. We had some [legislators] that had very little time to spend with us. Others appeared to be enthusiastic about us actually being there.” The political arena is not always an easy arena to navigate; there is little time for legislators to meet with constituents and “the floor” seems like a place where very little gets done. However, even though the student government members only had concise interactions with the lawmakers, every moment mattered. Gallaher and Smith laid the foundation for future Parkland students to advocate for funding for higher education.
