Sparks and SPPF at the MCCD Governing Board meeting tonight

I just returned from the meeting of the Maricopa Community College District's (MCCD) Governing Board this evening. Our Student Public Policy Forum (SPPF) group was on hand to present the results of our recent lobbying trip to Washington D.C. to promote the higher education legislative agenda to our elected representatives.

I wasn't able to stay until the end of the meeting, but the first half went well, from what I saw, with one notable exception. Namely, the first person up to speak - a student from Scottsdale Community College who was NOT in our SPPF program - took the opportunity to not only lodge a complaint about the Board, but did so in some of the rudest terms I've ever heard anyone speak at a public policy gathering.

The fellow, whose name escapes me, shambled up to the microphone with his shirttail drooping out of his trousers and pulled out a sheaf of papers on which he'd written his fulminating screed. After he'd accused the whole Board of corruption and began to talk about coverups, "sacrificial lambs" and the "sins of the fathers", he then warmed up to accusing the Board of other ulterior motives and so forth.

It was part rant and part Dr. Bronner's soap label. There seemed to be no real facts in anything he was saying, just a lot of highly charged invective. After a couple of minutes of this undiluted vitriol, Presiding Board Member Rosenthal interrupted him and asked, "Excuse me...what is the bottom line of your complaint?"

At this, the fellow became even more adversarial and suggested that Madam President had derailed him from his rant so as to undermine his freedom of speech, which, and I'm not kidding here, "the Sheriff's office would have something to say about".

When President Rosenthal said that further comments of his insulting nature wouldn't be acceptable, he lashed back with a comment about "it shows where your hearts and minds really are". Which I guess means, if you aren't prepared to just sit there and have me spit insults at you, then you're a bad public servant, or something.

"You're excused," Madame President finally said, to the relief of many in the room, I'm sure.

As the fellow gathered up his papers and prepared to skulk from the room, he said "I just hope the media will take notice of this." For that matter, I hope so, too. He was an excellent cautionary example of how NOT to lobby your public officials.

After he left, Mrs. Rosenthal noted calmly that citizen participation in this forum is most welcome, but it was predicated on a certain standard of courtesy. And, in her opinion, that standard was not being met by the fellow's behavior. I couldn't agree more emphatically.

***

Perhaps 20 minutes later in the meeting, our group was able to speak. After introduction by Vice-Chancellor Helfgot, our Director of the program (Chad Douwstra) spoke briefly and introduced about a half-dozen of us students. We each took perhaps a minute to share some brief impressions and personal relevance of our experience in the SPPF program.

When my turn came, I noted that lobbying is a word that has fallen into disrepute, but it is a critical part of our civic society. To proactively champion an issue or advocate for your values with elected officials is part of the bedrock of our country. The SPPF program taught us not only the mechanics and logistics of how to do this, but also why it is important. Inspired by the grotesque example of the rude fellow that had spoken at the beginning of the meeting, I emphasized that we also learned how to do it in a spirit of collaboration and courtesy. Two principles, I noted, that ought to be part of the foundation of our body politic.

I was concerned that I would be physically able to speak, as I'm nursing a sore throat (my voice did crack once). But it went well. The other students who spoke were superb. I was especially moved by my colleague Chris, who closed for us, drawing the importance of being able to lobby as part of the American experience and how the program enabled us to be a part of that experience more richly than before. In all, the presentation went well and I was extraordinarily proud to be a part of that group.

If anyone would like to find out how to become a part of the SPPF program at their community college, please check with your Student Life Director for more information or send me an email). If you're interested in learning how and why to lobby, as well as developing a network of friends to help you develop in this area, it's an excellent training experience.

And, it's more than just an educational opportunity. As I said to the Governing Board in my own closing comments, to be able to go from volunteering on a campaign to help elect a Congressman to, a few months later, standing in his office in Washington D.C. and championing the issues and legislation that are important to me, was an experience that I will never forget.

I'm extraordinarily grateful for the Board's support of the SPPF program and for being able to take part in it. As soon as I got home, I sent Mrs. Rosenthal an email thanking her and the Board again for the opportunity to speak and their support for the SPPF program. And I also noted how pleased I was with the way she handled the very passionate, but also very rude, fellow who definitely needed to get some training on how to lobby his public officials.

SPPF lobbying trip to DC on Higher Education Legislation

Last week, several of my colleagues and I who are serving as representatives on the Maricopa County Community College District's SPPF (Student Public Policy Forum) took a trip to D.C. The purpose was twofold. First, to lobby our elected representatives for their support on a series of higher education bills before Congress. Second, to attend the National Community College Legislative Summit.

Overall, the trip was a success. Some highlights:

1. Lobbying our elected officials.

SPPFers joined Governing Board members and other key staffers to visit with all of Arizona's elected officials. I was slated for Senator Kyl and, by request, Congressman Mitchell. Unfortunately, Senator Kyl wasn't available to meet, so we met with one of his staffers. Also unfortunately, rather than meeting with us in a small group, they scheduled about 40 of us at the same time, so we were all jammed into the Senator's conference room at once. And finally, the staffer didn't appear to be all that informed about the higher education legislative agenda, despite introducing himself as the Senator's "Education Expert".

We were able to present some of the agenda, but as a lobbying effort, it was kind of a bust. As a learning experience, though, it was great. I picked up several tips on how to lobby more effectively in the future.

Congressman Mitchell was unfortunately tied up in a meeting, but we did have the opportunity to meet with his legislative assistant in a small, focused group meeting. It went extraordinarily well. Though there are nearly a dozen pieces of legislation on our agenda for higher education, my areas of focus were on the Pell Grants and the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit. I was able to speak on both of those. The staffer was well informed, respectful, supportive and seemed actively interested. When our meeting with her was over, she and Mitchell's staff arranged for us to meet with him briefly in his office.

It was a great honor, having campaigned for Harry during the election here in AZ-5, to be able to stand in his office and talk with him about our agenda and to congratulate him, again, on his victory. His wife Marianne was there, and I chatted briefly with her, too. I have a picture of Harry and me standing behind his desk which I hope to post soon. It was not lost on me that this was the same office and desk that belonged to quite a different legislator only a few short months ago.

2. The National Community College Legislative Summit.

The conference was held over three days at our hotel and was quite informative. First, I met and spoke with many folks from around the country who are active in Board Governance for community colleges, as well as staffers and college Presidents.

The sessions were illuminating and left me with a real sense of the importance of community colleges as drivers of not only economic strength but also innovation, workforce competitiveness, tax-base development and a wide variety of social benefits as well. I'm convinced that funds spent on increasing higher education access are dollars well invested, that return many times over what we spend on such funding.

One interesting session was the "Red vs. Blue" presentations by Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie. They provided the partisan view on the legislative agenda. McAuliffe was outright exultant and using the opportunity to stump for Hillary Clinton, whom he is serving as Campaign Manager, for President in '08. Gillespie was no less partisan, but was somewhat more subdued (related to the GOP losses in Nov 06). Gillespie avoided stumping for a given candidate, probably because he's just stepped into the role of head of the Republican Party in Virginia, and as such can't champion one particular candidate over another.

3. Logistics.

Our expenses were covered by the SPPF program, for which I'm extraordinarily grateful. It afforded me a real opportunity to get involved in lobbying for an issue I feel strongly about and learning far more than I already knew. I may explore how to expand this into a more sustained effort in the future.

The travel arrangements were a bit unpleasant, as the snowstorms that hit the northeast shut down Reagan International Airport and delayed our flight out considerably. Our connecting flight was in Atlanta and by the time we arrived, it was too late to catch the flight to Phoenix. So, for the second time in as many months, I've slept in an airport terminal due to weather delays. :(

In conclusion, though, it was a great trip despite the setbacks. I'd urge anyone who's interested in finding out more about lobbying on higher education policy and who happens to be attending a community college to check out the SPPF program.

Fortunately, I was able to connect with Congressman Mitchell again this afternoon at the Higher Education Legislative Agenda event at ASU with Speaker Pelosi and other key representatives. (More on that in a following post.)