Today, many young people are not taught the basics of many subjects in life. In the political world, one such area that young people are lacking in is how to engage in the political process.
Many students complain that legislators are not listening to them, so CFACT Driessen Fellow Shakira Jackson organized an event to teach her peers how to get legislators’ attention at the University of Pittsburgh, Bradford.
“I held a ‘Tips for Contacting your Legislators’ event on my campus in hopes that our students would express their concerns about environmental issues to their legislators,” Jackson said. “It was a great turnout as we started with an open dialogue about what environmental issues are not talked about enough and concluded the conversation on what the people we are putting in an office can do about environmental issues. We also wrote letters and made phone calls.
“I provided paper, pens, and envelopes, and my student government provided stamps. Some people don’t believe in writing letters anymore, but sometimes old school is the best way.”
CFACT helps inform students about the facts on subjects they are receiving from their classes or the media, including the truth behind fracking (aka hydraulic fracturing), climate change, property rights, energy, and more.
This is Shakira’s last event for CFACT as she is graduating this year. Congratulations to Shakira and make sure to look for more great events from this campus as the baton is passed to a new Driessen Fellow intern at the University of Pittsburgh.
