Lobbying against climate change, Cabrini students take on Washington D.C.

By Hope Daluisio
April 19, 2018

Cabrini University students lobbying against climate change

Speaking up to government officials through lobbying is a powerful right that not every country has. The United States gives citizens this right and Cabrini students take full advantage by lobbying in Washington D.C. every semester for issues they learn and are passionate about.

To lobby is to seek to influence a politician or public official on an issue. It is a right that all American citizens have under the first amendment to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

People in poor countries contribute the least to climate change but feel the most affects. Photo submitted by Britt Smith.

The crisis of climate change

In the Engagements with the Common Good courses Working for Global Justice and Working for Justice in Guatemala, students deeply study poverty-focused development assistance, specifically how climate change affects the poor. All semester they study this issue all while calling their state and local representatives to schedule times to meet in the the nation’s capital, Washington D.C.

“When I went lobbying, we focused on the effects of climate change in countries like Guatemala,” senior communication major Britt Smith said. “Coffee is the biggest crop in Guatemala and how they make most of their money. Due to climate change and the heat levels rising, this thing called ‘la roya,’ or the rust, is taking over these coffee plants. This is a fungus that makes the coffee plants unusable. This is devastating the economy of Guatemala, especially in cities like the one I visited, San Lucas Tolimán.”

Poverty-focused development assistance is the part of the United States foreign aid budget that provides assistance to poor countries to aid in reducing poverty and investing in economic development. These students believe it is important to learn and advocate about this topic because a majority of their generation is ignorant on the subject.

Students smile in front of Capitol Hill after talking with their representatives. Photo by Jerry Zurek.

Learning through lobbying

Cabrini University is one of the only schools that incorporates social justice and community service within its core requirements. Students are required to take three engagement in the common good courses that include this out-of-the-classroom learning experiences.

Before lobbying, Smith traveled to Guatemala. There she witnessed first hand the consequences of having loose climate change policy in poverty struck countries. When she returned back to the United States she lobbied in Washington D.C. and became classroom coach for ECG 300: Working for Global Justice.

“I was somewhat knowledgeable and definitely cared a lot before taking classes at Cabrini where I learned more about climate change,” Smith said. “But once I took these classes and actually learned more about climate change the urge to do something about was greater than before.”

The right to be heard

Only 48 percent of Americans believe that climate change is caused by human activity and only 61 percent of them say it is a problem the government needs to address. Cabrini students want their voices to be heard and want others to join them in their efforts.

“I tend to pay more attention to what is going on in the world around me, not just in my surrounding area,” senior education major Jackie Witherow said. “I have become a more consistent world news follower since having lobbied.”

Witherow (left) lobbied with Hailey McDonough (right) for the first time with her class and practiced her first amendment right. Photo by Jerry Zurek.

The students went through the complete process of lobbying. They set up appointments with their representatives of their hometowns, drove to Washington D.C. and sat down to talk about these issues and what they want the government to do about it.

“Lobbying was a special experience to come out of a college course,” senior accounting major Ethan Spotts said. “Hitting the books in college will never have the same impact as meeting the people you read about and actually advocating for the betterment of their lives. After all of it you will understand that change isn’t going to happen if you just keep thinking other people will put in the work.”

The Trump administration does not support climate change policy, has taken the United States out of Paris Agreement and cut funding towards poverty focused development assistance. Carbon dioxide levels have raised over 100 parts per million since 1950. These students want their representatives to act upon climate change policies to possibly slow down this rate.

“We start the change,” Witherow said. “We need to take these opportunities to learn and formulate our own opinions about global issues and take the steps to be a part of the change.”

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Hope Daluisio

Loquitur Media Visual Managing Editor 2017-2018 // Cabrini University '19 // Photographer & Videographer

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