Last year in February, Ms. Turner took a group of student journalists to the capitol building in Albany to lobby for the passing of the Student Journalist Free Speech Act which would limit the amount of censorship for student journalists in all of New York State. On February 27th, 14 Curtis students returned to Albany to garner support of the act again. Curtis partnered with the organization New Voices New York to help them gain cosponsors for their bill along with 36 other students from five other schools with 50 students and six schools, including us. We had returning students from last year’s trip but the majority of our students who went on the trip were newcomers.
Speaking with Jaydlyn Oropeza, a junior, about her experience with going on the trip for the first time she said, “My expectation was to actually meet the senators and fully talk with them. But I didn’t know that, we talked to the people that worked with them…The staffers were really young, which was also cool because they spoke our type of lingo. Yeah, like gen Z, which was also funny, which I liked. It let me come out of my shell.” When asked if it was easier or harder than she expected Jaydlyn said it was “Easier. I was scared coming in, ’cause I actually thought we spoke to senators but then I felt reassurance because of the age of the staffers.”
Jasmine Ducette, a junior and another first-time attendee, said that she “loved it and it was a great experience, getting to speak to legislators and feel overall important being passionate talking about a topic.”
Aside from speaking with first-time lobbyists, Arijeta Demirovic and Haris Jafri are two returning sophomore student journalists who went on the trip. When asked how this year’s trip differed from last year’s trip Arijeta said, “This year students had a swifter agenda. Instead of just going around to different legislators to gain sponsors for the bill, we advocated at a more proactive level through a press conference and follow-ups with sponsors from last year.” Haris added, “The trip this year went off without a hitch and there were no roadblocks this year. Thankfully the weather was better this year compared to last year so we were able to get more students.”
Being a second timer, Arijeta also said, “Having been on the trip twice, I have not only gained new experiences speaking to professionals in the political and journalism fields, but was also able to take part in the heart of our nation’s identity: advocacy. Speaking up for rights that pertain to myself and my peers changes my outlook of my life from a passive to active stance.” Haris also added, “This trip helps me realize that all good things take time and if you want something you have to put in work for it to prosper, I’m not aware for how long this bill has been out for but I’m sure if it eventually does get passed it will pay off.”
Lobbying definitely takes hard work and dedication to actually make a difference. There were times during the trip where the doors to the senator’s office were closed and students didn’t even get a chance to speak about the Student Journalist Free Speech Act. Even though there were drawbacks in the students’ lobbying process, Haris Jafri explained what he actually enjoyed about being a lobbyist, saying, “I really liked interacting with the new people, meeting senators and realized how nice they were while also staying professional was a nice sight to see. It was also fun talking to the other parties there fighting for their own bill.”
Overall the student lobbyists were able to make 145 office visits in two and a half hours even on Albany’s busiest day. They were even able to pick up four commitments to cosponsor the bill. It was a very productive and empowering day for all the students and adults alike.
