Home Again Home Again

The annual trip to the state capitol is complete. FAU had over 60 students at this year's NASW student Lobby Day.  I had a great group of students as leaders of this trip (Jen, Sam, Terese, Paola, Richard, Dani, Malia) and they managed to pull off the entire event without a hitch. 

I also had an amazing group of students in attendance. I feel so lucky to be their professor and to be able to watch them soak up policy experiences. Some of the highlights of the trip include:

• Dinner at Andrew's Capitol Grill with legislators (Thanks to Representative Irv Slosberg and Lori Berman-{pictured below} for being in attendance). 

• A great NASW training event Monday night (Thanks to Johanna Byrd)
• Watching interesting policy being debated in committee hearings and on the full floor of the House and Senate.
• Particularly fun was watching as a bill moved through the third reading in the Senate. It was a bill that removed the requirement that you ride your bike with at least one hand on the handlebar. A Senator asked the following question after it was read, "So this is the bill that would let us legally say, "Look mom, no hands!" The sponsor said, "yes, sir." and it moved onto the calendar for a vote. 

I hope that students left Tallahassee with the knowledge that they can not only be involved in the legislative process but also make change that will have a lasting impact on social justice. 

No back to my other responsibilities!

There was lots of movement in a variety of policy areas at the end of the week from birth control coverage to Florida redistricting map approval. I was too tired and behind in all other areas of my life to monitor these closely. More commentary later in the week, I promise. 

One last story to tell...My daughter told me on Friday that her teacher led a policy exercise in her 1st grade class. They were asked, "If you were the President, what one law would you enact?" Her answer was fantastic and the reason why I think kids should be in charge of our country. She said she would not let anyone pollute the air. You would not be able to build a factor that pollutes the sky because birds die, the sky gets dark, and pollution kills animals. Then she added one more law. She said no one would be allowed to have a gun. She said, "maybe you could have a sword but not use it." So cute. 

Have a great week. 

Dr. D.