Students advocate for swift change during trip to Washington D.C.

LOBBYING, page 1 treme global poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide who live on less than $1 per day by 2015.

“Students sometimes go to Congress to advocate for better financial aid or other topics that hit home for them. But these 23 students lobbied Congress on behalf of those who have no voices--people starving, people infected with AIDS,” said Dr. Jerry Zurek, professor and chairman of the communication department.

The students passionately explained the need for additional funding of food aid programs in poor countries; giving personal accounts and knowledge attained from the classroom.

Cavanagh said, “All of the students did a wonderful job and I was extremely pleased to listen to the feedback after the Hill visits. It was especially nice to hear that they were taken seriously. It is important to understand that although they may be young, they do have clout. They are informed voters so politicians have to consider their opinions.”

“What these students did was an exceptional example of engaged citizenship and true solidarity with the poor around the world. These students spoke with expertise and with passion. The legislative aides who write our American laws listened and were impressed,” Zurek said.

Throughout the semester, the students have become knowledgeable of the major issues concerning countries abroad as well as the most effective forms of action to take in addressing these issues to improve the situations in the poor countries of the world.

“I’ve had no experience with lobbying or anything like that before, and I went in thinking that it was going to be extremely intense. It wasn’t. It felt totally comfortable. It’s such a liberating experience to have your voice heard and to know that you can make a difference,” said Jessica Storm, junior studio arts and English major.

Conference calls with the president of CRS Ken Hackett; Thomas Awiapo, the senior program director for CRS Ghana and numerous other experts in world issues, as well as in-class speakers such as Dr. Arlene Flaherty from the northeast branch of CRS and other CRS representatives, and lastly, readings of various books such as “The End of Poverty” by economist Jeffrey Sachs, all have helped develop the students’ understanding of issues such as poverty, hunger, Iraqi refugees and HIV/AIDS.

Their semester-long class partnered with a day-long training