A Husky on the Hill!

On January 29th, I participated in the UW annual Huskies on the Hill event, where I travelled to Capitol Hill in Olympia with other students and spent the day advocating. We advocated for several bills supported by the associated students of UW, including SB5999, focused on the expansion of the Washington State College Grant (enabling more people to afford college) and HB2242, increasing protection and resources for survivors of sexual assault in higher education institutions. I met with my District 36 House Rep. Julia Reed and staffers of my District 36 House Rep. Liz Berry. This was a super cool experience, as I actually got to voice my opinions and desires as a constituent to my representatives. Both Rep. Reed and Rep. Berry's staffers were super receptive and listened intently, which was really valuable. I also met with Sen. Phil Fortunato, a Republican senator, which was definitely an interesting experience. I don't get to interact with many people who have such different opinions, so it was intriguing to listen to him talk and share his opinions. It was frustrating, however, how unreceptive he was. Overall, it was really cool to see the innerworkings of government and see how the advocacy process works. I'm really grateful to have been able to participate in this activity, and it's definitely made me want to continue to incorporate advocacy into whatever I do in my future.

Photo is courtesy of The Daily/Sean Fan.