Bloomfield College students lobby in Trenton on higher education funding
March 11, 2008 - The Association for Independent Colleges and Universities of NJ (AICUNJ) sponsored a student lobby day in Trenton on Monday, March 10, 2008. Five students and two staff members from Bloomfield College descended upon the statehouse to ask legislators to reconsider Governor Corzine’s budget cuts to higher education. The students also had the opportunity to sit in on committee meetings and learn more about the legislative process in New Jersey.
The students from the 11 colleges and universities represented by AICUNJ were met by Lynn Mertz, assistant to the president of AICUNJ. Metz distributed packets to the students that contained information about the committee meetings and gave them talking points for their meetings with legislators. The students attended the meetings and talked about the funding issues by approaching the legislators as they entered and left the meetings.
During the lunch hour, the students were sent to the basement tunnel that connects the statehouse buildings where they had chance meetings with legislators traveling from one building to the other. The students learned that lobbying happens everywhere and to be heard, one must walk in step with the legislators as they hurry from one meeting to the next and to have their speech prepared. In some cases, the students only had a few moments to deliver their message.
Several legislators met Bloomfield College students, including Senators Bill Baroni, Tom Kean Jr., Philip Haines, and Sandra Cunningham (who is a Bloomfield College alumna). They also met with the Acting Treasurer David Rousseau.
The students representing Bloomfield College were Glenford Brown, Errol Narvaez, Jamar Chiles, Danielle Matthews, and Brian Cain. They were accompanied by Maria Dyer, director of the Center for Student Leadership and Engagement, and Eleanor Davis, director of the Educational Opportunity Fund.
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