2008 Woodie Awards
PC is cleaning up house . . . and the Senate
Monique Teves '07
Issue date: 10/5/06 Section: Commentary
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This semester, you may have spent your first weekend in Providence catching up with friends, trying to meet new people, exploring the city, and setting goals for what would surely be your best year ever. I did the same thing on Sept. 8 - 10, only I did it in Washington, D.C. Yes, I did miss Providence College and had wanted to spend the weekend relaxing and celebrating my new senior status, but there was important work to be done about Capital Hill, even for a music education major.
Last year I heard about the national organization, Democracy Matters, a non-partisan group working toward Clean Elections. Some of my friends at Brown University were involved, and the issue sounded interesting. As a result, Annice Correia '07 and I thought we might give starting our own chapter a shot at. I had a general lack of trust in government for some time, and saw this feeling in many of my peers. This skepticism was understandable, with student loan rates increasing, environmental bills being repealed, and politicians making decisions in the interest of huge corporations that invest in them. There didn't seem to be anything to do about it but get angry, or worse-apathetic.
Luckily, I found out about Clean Elections long before I got to that point. Correia and I began just by going to a few of Brown's meetings and learning more about Clean Elections. It's a system of publicly financing election campaigns, so that politicians are beholden to the people, and not the CEOs, special-interest lobbyists, or millionaires fund them.
Finally, I thought, here's a system that makes sense. It was inspiring to know that Maine and Arizona have had Clean Elections since 2000. Connecticut recently passed the bill, and it is on the ballot for California this year. There is actually a national movement happening to take back our government and restore integrity in democracy, and much of it is happening on college campuses.
This is how I found myself flying into the Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Friday afternoon. Democracy Matters, in conjunction with Common Cause and Public Campaign, were hosting a conference on Clean Elections, and Correia and I were invited to represent PC.
Last year I heard about the national organization, Democracy Matters, a non-partisan group working toward Clean Elections. Some of my friends at Brown University were involved, and the issue sounded interesting. As a result, Annice Correia '07 and I thought we might give starting our own chapter a shot at. I had a general lack of trust in government for some time, and saw this feeling in many of my peers. This skepticism was understandable, with student loan rates increasing, environmental bills being repealed, and politicians making decisions in the interest of huge corporations that invest in them. There didn't seem to be anything to do about it but get angry, or worse-apathetic.
Luckily, I found out about Clean Elections long before I got to that point. Correia and I began just by going to a few of Brown's meetings and learning more about Clean Elections. It's a system of publicly financing election campaigns, so that politicians are beholden to the people, and not the CEOs, special-interest lobbyists, or millionaires fund them.
Finally, I thought, here's a system that makes sense. It was inspiring to know that Maine and Arizona have had Clean Elections since 2000. Connecticut recently passed the bill, and it is on the ballot for California this year. There is actually a national movement happening to take back our government and restore integrity in democracy, and much of it is happening on college campuses.
This is how I found myself flying into the Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Friday afternoon. Democracy Matters, in conjunction with Common Cause and Public Campaign, were hosting a conference on Clean Elections, and Correia and I were invited to represent PC.