By Josh Hughes
It’s that wonderful time of year again! All your favorite non-governmental organizations are going to Olympia to talk to legislators about important policies regarding their mission. For Western, that means Environmental Lobby Day, Salish Sea Lobby Day, Ethnic Student Center Lobby Day and Disability Outreach Center Lobby Day. For those wanting to know more about the events or get involved, here’s a brief rundown:
Environmental Lobby Day:
The AS Environmental and Sustainability Programs is hosting its fifth annual Environmental Lobby Day on President’s Day, Monday, February 19th. Unfortunately, registration for the event closed on Sunday for those wanting to attend, but it’s still important to talk about what will occur at the event.
This year’s agenda is not yet completely fixated, but last year, students met with legislators to lobby for clean air, protection of waterways, toxin regulations, and safe transportation of oil. This year the focus will be more tailored towards social justice and health. For students who have not had much or any experience lobbying, the group will meet on Sunday to walk people through the process. While there will be a set of four or so bills that the group will focus on, Lobby Day is a time for individuals to speak up about the issues that matter most to them. For this event, any and all environmental policy topics are welcome.
Salish Sea Lobby Day:
The Students for the Salish Sea and the Protectors of the Salish Sea will be going down to Olympia for Lobby Day on February 12th. As with the Environmental Lobby Day, students must register to attend, but registration is open up until the event. However, it does cost $10 for anyone to attend.
“A day of solidarity with the understandings of the First Peoples of The Salish Sea to uphold the sacred relationships with all beings (peoples) of the Schen’a (Salish Sea),” reads the event description. “A day to be the voice for the Kelthlala’mechen (Orcas people), Schay’nexw (Salmon people), Skelalnexw (tree people) and all the children of our Xa’xe Ten’exw (Sacred Mother Earth), born and unborn.”
This session the group will be advocating for Orca protection policies, anti-pipeline laws, an immediate halt to work at Puget Sound Energy’s LNG facility, respect of treaties signed with the Coast Salish Tribal Nations, and various other issues at hand. Liz Satiacum, Snohomish Sladai, Che oke’ten and Dakota W Case will all speak throughout the event. Afterwards, students who register may sign up to meet with representatives to talk about relevant topics.
Ethnic Student Center Lobby Day
Over President’s Day weekend, the Ethnic Student Center will also go down to Olympia to lobby for their agenda. This year the agenda will include bills advocating for the support of undocumented immigrants and survivors of sexual violence, implementation of ethnic studies curriculum in grades K-12, and support for an in-state tuition waiver for Native American students.
Disability Outreach Center Lobby Day
Also occurring over President’s Day weekend, the Disability Outreach Center is hosting their first lobby day. This year they will be advocating for improvement of funding for accessibility and disability services at public universities, employment equality for those with disabilities, and the Model Toxics Control Act, Washington’s environmental cleanup law.