On May 29, ASI hosted local council members at Chumash Auditorium from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for their first-ever Civic Engagement Day. The day included a panel with San Luis Obispo Councilwoman Emily Francis, County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg and staff members from the offices of County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding, Senator John Laird and State Assemblymember Dawn Addis.
The Civic Engagement Day aimed to engage students in discussions and share concerns with the representatives and officials that govern the county they reside in, according to the ASI Blog.
“One of our big goals was to better connect students to the people who make decisions that affect them,” Chair of External Affairs for ASI Reagan Denny said. “We thought the best way to do that would be all at one time.”
About 40 students attended the event and sat at circular tables where free lunch from Mr. Pickles was served. Students from a variety of majors including engineering, political science, statistics and journalism were in attendance.
Upon arrival, students were given sticky notes to answer various questions that were posted on posters around the room. Some of the questions included “What is one community issue you wish to see fixed?” and “What is your favorite part of the SLO community?”
Student answers varied from enjoying nature, international places and the transit in San Luis Obispo. Students also expressed opinions on issues such as homelessness, parking and rent prices.
ASI representatives Reagan Denny and Alexander Levine gave the panel of government representatives the questions from students to answer.
A majority of the students listening to the panel were ASI representatives and students interested in politics, according to Francis. Her goal is to reach and engage the younger generations and the public with local government to be proactive in solving issues.
“You’ve got your folks who are already really engaged,” Francis said. “My question to Cal Poly is how do we get those students in here who are working other jobs, are parents as well and are struggling to navigate school in other ways? How do we get them into the room and hear what issues are important to them?”
Materials engineering senior Michelle Cullen was involved in her local government in high school and their environmental laws. She explained how she wanted to come to this event to keep her policy-making interests alive while at Cal Poly.
“I’m honestly not very involved in the SLO local government,” Cullen said. “I think it will be interesting to see what the representatives are currently working on.”
Materials engineering junior Olivia Madrigal attended this event for similar reasons. Interested in the involvement between technology and the environment, she wanted to broaden her local knowledge in San Luis Obispo.
“I’m very concerned with environmental issues in our world today and I think solutions are rooted in technology, but they’re gonna need a lot of help and resources are needed to get mobilized through policy and finance,” Madrigal said.
Visit the ASI website for more upcoming events.