Students lobby Austin legislators

Lobbying Austin legislators started well before the 4 a.m. bus departure from Richland College to Austin on Feb. 22. The group of North Lake College students, mostly from Dr. Gabriel Bach’s government classes, Student Government Association members and Phi Theta Kappans, under the coordination of Virginia Jones and Bach, met in January and February to learn about lobbying techniques and collect information about target legislators to visit on that day. It was a first for the students, as none of them had ever visited a legislator in the Texas Capitol.

Like 1,500 other community college students from across Texas, North Lake students assembled on the steps of the Capitol for a “family picture.” Then they headed for the Rotunda to meet with State House Representative Linda Harper- Brown for an official picture. Like many other students, North Lake students tried to get a firsthand look at the House and Senate floor activities.

The lobbying effort was directed toward a set of issues impacting community college students. Students urged their legislators to increase community college funding and to make textbooks more financially affordable to them.

Their first meeting was with Roberto R. Alonzo, member of the Higher Education committee. He met with the students just outside the Speaker’s office. As Alonzo was listening to the students’ lobbying efforts, Speaker Craddick happened to walk by. Asked about his support for community colleges, he replied, “Of course!”

The North Lake group, like thousands of other students, enjoyed a barbeque lunch on the lawn outside the Capitol. They listened to a few speakers, like Senator Royce West, who were appreciative of the students’ lobbying campaign.

In the afternoon, the group met respectively with the staffs of Harper- Brown (Appropriations committee), Anchia (Financial Investments committee), and Rick Noriega (Appropriations committee). All were interested, asked quite a few questions, and seemed supportive of the community colleges’ lobbying campaign. Before leaving the Capitol mid-afternoon, Bach briefl y met with Judith Saffirini’s and Royce West’s staffs.