Accomplishments:
We certainly have our share of problems, from the rising cost of
higher education, to the failing economy, to a broken health care
system, to the challenge of solving global warming.
We've also got a lot to be proud of:
Arizona Student Vote Coalition: Here
in Arizona and nationwide, we helped register and turn out young
voters. Here at the University of Arizona, we helped register over
4,000 students to vote and made 20,000 reminders to students during the
days leading up to Election Day through emails, calls, canvassing,
tabling, and text messages.
There were 3.4 million more young
voters in 2008 compared to 2004. The youth share of the electorate also
surpassed that of people over 65 - an impressive feat.
Hunger and Homelessness:
We are facing one of the worst economic crises since the Great
Depression. Unemployment rates keep going higher and more people are
forced into poverty every day. This spring we joined the national
Hunger Cleanup, a day of service and fundraising, to serve our local
community and raise money for local, national, and international
agencies addressing poverty. Here at the University of Arizona, we
raised over $2,000 for local hunger and homeless agencies.
Making Higher Education Affordable:
In January, we helped convince Congress to include several key measures
in the economic stimulus - a $17 billion increase in Pell grant
funding, more work-study aid, and bigger tax credits for low-income
students and their families.
And, at the end of February,
President Obama proposed a budget for 2010-2011 which significantly
reinvests in the Pell grant and makes sure it increases each year
according to inflation. The proposal pays for itself by cutting
excessive subsidies to bank and lenders in the student loan program.
Global Warming:
In January we worked to make sure that the economic stimulus package
included critical funding for programs that will create jobs and
protect the environment, including $16 billion for public transit and
$78 billion for clean energy and green infrastructure.
Right
now, we're petitioning, organizing educational events, and lobbying to
make sure Congressman Grijalva fights for legislation to put us on a
path to solve global warming by increasing clean energy, reducing
emissions, and creating new jobs.
No matter your level of
involvement, we're only able to do this work because of your support -
so thanks again for another great year.
We're looking forward to hitting the ground running next year on our fall campaigns, and we hope to see you around!