MPIRG/YEA! MN Lobby Day: Youth at the Capitol!

So much environmentalism, so little time! If you don't have time to read this whole post, check out this quick video about the event, made by the Will Steger Foundation:

Lobby Day Video! 

This energetic team of YEA! MN high school leaders
helped organize the event and created a paper-mache sun
to support solar power.

Becoming a Lobbyist

The Minnesota State Capitol building is a big place where important things happen, so I’ll admit that I was a little nervous when I headed to St. Paul on Tuesday to take part in the 2012 Youth Lobby Day at the capitol. Politics looks pretty intimidating when you’re just a high school Junior with a bunch of opinions. But now I’m really happy that I went anyway- besides clearing up my initial fears about the capitol, I got to meet an incredible group of young people just as passionate about environmentalism as me.

I joined this small group session to learn about the benefits
of solar power.

The event was organized by two student groups: the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG), run by college and university students, and the high school group Youth Environmental Activists of Minnesota (YEA! MN). They organized the day with the goal of supporting solar power, recycling, and voting rights legislation by letting legislators hear the youth voice.
Our day started with a session where we learned how to be effective lobbyists: basically, don't be scared, know what you're talking about, and if you can't answer a question don't be afraid to say "I don't know." That was reassuring, but the coolest thing that session made me realize was that my legislators were hired to represent me. No matter my age or experience, my legislators need to hear what I have to say- especially about environmental issues that will effect mine and future generations.

I joined a group of other young lobbyists to talk with
my Senator, Mary Jo Mcguire.

Meeting our Senator

I joined a group of a dozen or so other students from Hamline University and Great River School to meet with my Senator, Mary Jo Mcguire. Everyone seemed a little nervous, but the meeting turned out to be an empowering experience. Senator Mcguire was very welcoming as we all sat down in a conference room and introduced ourselves individually. We told her about the recycling, solar power, and voting rights bills that we'd come to lobby on, and she agreed with us enthusiastically on every issue and told us how happy she was to see youth voicing their opinions at the capitol. We left the meeting smiling, after shaking hands and taking some pictures.  

Representative Kate Knuth
 tells the group about her experiences with
youth and environmentalism in politics

Kate Knuth
Representative Kate Knuth appeared in the afternoon to share her experiences in environmentalism and youth in politics. We really enjoyed hearing her speak, since her story of being first elected in her mid-twenties was inspiring to a crowd of young political activists.
Representative Knuth also stuck around to be interviewed and to hear a few high school students perform a rap song for her about the dangers of fracking.

Students from Great River School tell
 Representative Knuth about the
 dangers of fracking.

The Beatles Become Solar Power Advocates
One of my favorite parts of the day was in the afternoon, when we gathered on the steps into the capitol rotunda to sing about solar power to the tune of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun". We got some funny looks, but also a lot of wide smiles, from the bystanders, who I'm sure learned a lot about solar panels during the song's nine verses. It's also very satisfying to know that our voices were literally heard at the capitol.


The Coolest Part
The entire day was amazing, especially spent with some really hardworking people who have genuine passion for the issues. But one of the best moments for me was walking through a big marble hallway in the Capitol building and noticing two important-

Serenading our legislators about solar power, to the
tune of "Here Comes the Sun"

looking women in business suits walk by me and the group of skinny-jean clad high schoolers I was with. As we passed them, I heard one of the women say how glad she was to have youth coming to the capitol to share their perspective. It was a great moment for me to not only be at the capitol to express my opinion, but also to know that people appreciate it when young people like us make the effort to participate in politics.