INTRODUCTION
Lobby Corps is an organization that strives to unite activism, professionalism, and strategic planning to advocate for student needs. Corp members strive to represent student interests in political institutions by fighting for student rights, people-powered democracy, and affordable, accessible, and quality higher education for all. Lobby Corps seeks to mirror the unique, diverse, and forward thinking nature of the UCSB community, and advocate for student needs – be it in Washington D.C., or Isla Vista. The unit collaborates with other student organizations in order to educate, assist, and train student leaders so they can achieve the change they wish to see. They research, analyze, and advocate for and against local, state, and national legislation, programs, and policy. The goal of Lobby Corps is to influence legislators and decision-makers in order to craft public policy that reflects our diverse student community’s views and needs, and to give participating students the opportunity to gain political organizing and legislative advocacy experience.
NEW LOCAL AND STATEWIDE CHAIRS
New year meant some great new Chairs for Lobby Corps! Congrats were in order for Jessica Black and Izeah Garcia, the new Local and Statewide Chairs. Here taking out the trash from last year so the corps could be an even more effective voice for students!
ANNUAL VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE
Lobby Corps’ goal was to register 4,000 people to vote during UCSB’s move-in weekend They provide voter registration training to all who wanted to help out.
LOBBY CORPS TRIPS
Lobby Corps sent a large delegation to the annual UC Student Association (UCSA) Student Lobby Conference in Sacramento.
DAS WILLIAMS TALKS ABOUT MEASURES E AND F
UCSB Alum State Assemblymember Das Williams attended Student Lobby’s second meeting of fall quarter to talk about getting measures E & F on the ballot and the passage of Assembly Bill AB 3 that was a major step in Isla Vista becoming a Community Services District and thus realizing it’s goal of becoming self-governing. Williams has a long history of political activism, including his student days at UCSB, and had much to share.to
STUDY JAMS
Lobby Corps hosted numerous study jams throughout the year to help student prepare for their exams. Food and Scantrons were available.
BRUCE PORTER SPEAKS
County Supervisor candidate Bruce Porter spoke with students at one of their meetings. Needless to say, the corps invited all candidates to speak.
SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT PROFILE OF STATEWIDE CHAIR IZEAH GARCIA
During spring quarter the Santa Barbara Independent included Izeah Garcia in an article entitled, “Meet the New Crop of Santa Barbara Resisters: Tough and Energized, They’re Swinging High and Hitting Hard.” Kelsey Brugger wrote this profile of Izeah:
Out of Necessity
by Kelsey Brugger
As a teenager, Izeah Garcia would leave his Republican community of Fullerton and campaign door-to-door in Long Beach, where now-Congressmember Alan Lowenthal, a Democrat, was running for office. He knew the Democrats had no chance in his home district, and a friend told him he might even get to meet Joe Biden. Politics, after all, were in Garcia’s blood. His uncle had been a union organizer in Mexico.
He loved it. “That was the thing that ultimately got me really enthralled and engaged in the electoral process,” he said. Though he said he never really viewed the work as activism — “just the work that had to be done” — he came to appreciate one key value he learned as an intern: Voting is the bare minimum; activism is turning your one vote into hundreds.
(Photo couldn’t be copied) By Paul Wellman
Izeah Garcia, President of the Campus Democrats and Chair of the student government’s Lobby Corps (March 17, 2017)
Garcia, 21 years old and a UCSB history of public policy major, now finds himself in a community that shares his political values. When he started at UCSB as a first-generation college student nearly four years ago, he volunteered for State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson by calling Spanish-speaking voters. Two years later, he phone-banked for Measure P, the proposed ban on enhanced oil drilling in Santa Barbara County. Now Garcia is the president of the Campus Democrats.
Given the presidency of Donald Trump, Garcia again finds himself with more — much more — work to do. He recently organized a lobby trip for six students to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and federal financial aid. He is planning another trip to D.C. for 30 students before he graduates in June.
Garcia remains close with his family in Fullerton, sending extra money to his mother when he can. “Whenever we go on lobby trips to D.C.,” he said, “my mom tells me to be careful.” When she thinks of politics, she remembers they were dangerous in Mexico, Garcia explained. But she certainly encourages him to keep going. “She told me people are here for a reason,” he said. “She said, ‘You like to do this thing, so you have to do it well.’”
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