Education, environment to be topics at town meeting
I wo state congresswomen
will participate in today’s
discussion in Eugene
By Amy Jennaro
Oregon Daily Emerald
A town hall meeting today will
provide Eugene citizens with the
opportunity to discuss communi
ty and statewide problems with
Sen. Susan Castillo (D-Eugene)
and Rep. Kitty Piercy (D-Eugene).
The meeting will examine a vari
ety of issues, but Castillo and Piercy
said they see educational, environ
mental and transportation prob
lems as being of primary concern.
Castillo said an important issue
being debated this legislative ses
sion is the problem of getting
funding for public schools.
“It seems to me that we are going
to have to discover more ways to
provide additional revenue to meet
the needs of our schools,” she said.
Piercy said there are a variety of
ways to find more money for
schools.
“We need to look at the issue of
finding more tax loopholes or us
ing the kicker to provide funding
to schools,” she said.
Another debated issue is the
legislative proposal to build char
ter schools to provide better ser
vices to students who some say are
lacking quality education in the
public schools.
Castillo said she views the cre
ation of charter schools as a way
for the Legislature to avoid exam
ining school budget problems.
“The charter schools take away
the focus from what we should be
doing about the problems in our
Town hall meeting
■WHO: state Sen. Susan Castillo
and state Rep. Kitty Piercy
■WHAT: town hall meeting, no
specific issues
■WHEN: 7 p.m. today
■WHERE: River Road Community
Center. 1400 Lake Rd.
public schools," she said.
Another issue that both con
gresswomen consider to be impor
tant is extra funding for student
parents and increased grants for
students. Students from all of Ore
gon’s higher education establish
ments went to Salem for Lobby Day
on Feb. 23 in an attempt to draw
more attention to student issues.
Castillo said she was impressed
with the students’ dedication.
“I think students do a great job
in keeping support for issues,” she
said.
Castillo plans to back a pro
posed piece of legislation to give
more benefits to student parents.
"I am very supportive of the sys
tem of higher education and get
ting increased access for student
parents,” she said.
Piercy said she embraces plans to
increase monetary aid to students
but is dubious about the Legisla
ture’s ability to get enough money
to support proposed legislation that
would increase student grants.
“1 do think it will be a challenge
to get a budget together and try to
reform higher education,” she said.
Piercy said she sees issues in the
transportation system as being an
other area of importance.
“We have great problems in in
(restructure we have to deal with,”
she said.
Piercy cited crumbling roads,
clogged streets and updating the bus
system as primary concerns.
Another issue is the possible re
pealing of Eugene's "toxic right to
know” law, which informs citi
zens about chemicals being used
in their communities. Piercy and
Castillo are against a referendum
being considered by the Legisla
ture that would nullify the law.
"The 'right to know’ law is a part
of Eugene’s decision-making
process,” Piercy said.
Castillo said she hopes the
meeting will help the public to in
crease its participation in commu
nity issues.
“It’s an open agenda," she said.
"Any question anyone may have
they can ask.”
Higher Education Project director lobbying for student rights
The jormer OSPIRG
chairman has helped
students with lobbying
By Kristina Rudinskas
Oregon Daily Emerald
Advocating for student interests
in the political realm is a job for both
professional and student staffs.
Networking and advocating for
student interests can take different
forms.
Professional lobbying at national level
Ivan Fishberg has seen student
activism evolve over the years on
campuses across the nation. As di
rector of United States Public Inter
est Research Group’s Higher Edu
cation Project, Fishberg has lobbied
in Washington, D.C., for student
rights, lower loan interest rates and
amendments to the Reauthoriza
tion of Higher Education Act.
USPIRG a national organization
that advocates for consumer, envi
ronmental and social causes.
Today, students fight for differ
ent and more complex issues such
as child care and student health
care, Fishberg said.
‘Students today are more so
phisticated and savvy in their ap
proach to their activism,” he said.
Fishberg’s political career began
at Lane Community College in 1989
when he worked with the Oregon
Student Public Interest Research
Group and student government. He
later chaired OSPIRG in 1991.
His passion for protecting student
rights didn’t end with the end of his
college education. Fishberg went on
to be a campus organizer in Oregon
and Missouri and later helped cre
ate Youth Vote ‘94, which registered
and educated students and mobi
lized student voting.
His most recent battles in the
Capitol concern lowering student
loan interest rates. Fishberg said
he had to undertake a quick edu
cation on the financial issues be
hind student loans, grants and tax
exemptions.
“It wasn’t just the regular appro
priations process,” he said. “But it
was a full-scale battle for educa
tion that was going on in Congress.
So I was really thrown into the
deep end.”
Fishberg said the lack of finan
cial commitment to higher educa
tion is due in part to the need for
Congress to balance their its and
pay back campaign interests.
“It’s an incredibly complex
thing with a lot of different inter
ests,” he said. “Just having a few
people there that represent solely
the interests of students is ab
solutely critical.”
When the 104th Congress pro
posed cutting back federal finan
cial aid to students, a coalition was
formed among educational associ
ations, student groups and faculty
to raise the roar of student protest.
“We had a common interest to
protect federal financial aid,”
Fishberg said.
The Alliance to Save Student
Aid employed lobbying tactics to
ensure they were given a hearing
on the budget, and students were
present to voice their concerns.
The alliance hired a public rela
tions firm to help market its mes
sage to Congress and conducted
polling to determine what kind of
education was needed to inform
the representatives and senators.
“We wanted to draw broad lines
of defense around student aid,” he
said.
The massive mobilization
worked. During the 1995-96 ses
sion, Congress added $3 billion in
funding instead of the original $30
billion in proposed cuts to higher
education.
“We changed the terms of the
debate,” he said. “After the Reau
thorization of Higher Education
act passed, lawmakers realized
and said ‘We’re not going to get
into a big fight with students and
schools, but work with students
and negotiate.’”
For student leaders, advocating
for student causes during college
is an important stepping stone.
“For student activism and stu
dent organizing — you can start to
realize the stuff is important to do in
school,” he said. “That doesn’t stop
when you graduate. You continue
to be motivated by the same things. ’ ’
Fishberg said students have be
come a political force, and he
doesn't expect Congress to pro
pose any massive cuts to higher
education in the next session.
“But there is still a death by
thousands of little cuts to bleed us
to death,"he said.
Student lobbyists
Student leaders are needed to
represent student concerns in
Congress.
On March 12, the ASUO and
United States Student Association
are sending 12 University stu
dents to Washington to participate
in the association's legislative con
ference and lobby day.
C.J. Gabbe, ASUO Federal Affairs
Coordinator and event organizer,
said he believes it’s even more pow
erful for students to lobby through
larger national organizations.
Gabbe said lobbying or advocat
ing at the national level requires
better preparation. Professional ad
vocates such as Fishberg, the Ore
gon Student Association, USSA
and USPIRG are needed to stay on
top of current issues and educate at
the national level, he said.
“It has a huge effect,” Gabbe
said. “Students from this campus
can’t be there every day, but
through him we are. ”
For groups such as the College
Democrats, networking is an impor
tant element in advancing student
needs. The group meets with local
representatives such as U.S. Rep. Pe
ter DeFazio (D-Ore.) every so often.
Having a political affiliation can
be an influencing factor.
“It lets them know you’re for
real,” said Jed McGuire, public rela
tions coordinator for the campus
chapterofthe College Democrats. "It
shows you’ve taken time to sign up
and show allegiance and loyalty.”
Jennifer Noble, chairwoman of
the College Democrats, said she
tries to do indirect lobbying by set
ting students up with internships
with Democratic leaders. She is
currently the office manager for
Sen. Ron Wyden (D- Ore.).
“What better way to have a say
in the process than to be a part of
it,” she said.
For Jonathan Collegio, state
chairman of the College Republi
cans, meeting with legislators can
be effective.
When House Bill 3644 was in
the state Legislature, Collegio
spoke with several Republican
legislators and helped swing some
votes, he said.
"It's obvious the Republican
legislators know where I’m com
ing from — I’m not some cookie
lefty,” Collegio said.
The future
The next long-term battle for pro
tecting student rights may lay ahead.
"New things are happening —
advances and better technology
have potential pitfalls,” Fishberg
said. “Students need to be in
volved with issues. Not only on
campus but beyond your campus
and beyond your state. ”
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