Five of our members participated in the MEA’s Higher Education Lobby Day at the State House in Augusta. Below is a little write up about why one of our members participated and how the event went for her.
On Tuesday, March 5th, I participated in MEA’s Higher Education Lobby Day at the State House in Augusta with fellow ACSUM members Tim Pinkham, Lisa Feldman, Gail Wartell, and Cheryl Spencer. I was fortunate to be able to talk with my representative, Robert Nutting and my senator, Roger Katz. Both listened respectfully to my concerns about the impact of flat funding by the state of Maine and the further impact of the federal government’s reductions in student worker funding. I know many campuses rely heavily on their student workers to provide services to students and the public. Those services will be severely curtailed if the state legislature cuts our funding.
I felt it was important for me to put a face on the result of possible funding cuts for the UM System, even for the senators and representatives with whom we did not have the opportunity to speak. Because of our ACSUM and MEA buttons, they were very aware that we were in attendance.