Students Learn About Life at the Capitol: It Pays to Lobby

Instead of merely reading about legislation like most teen-agers, 29 nervous but determined eighth-graders from Walnut flew here Tuesday for a real-life civics lesson.

Dressed in their Sunday best and toting briefcases bulging with press kits, the social studies students from Suzanne Middle School lobbied for committee approval of a non-binding resolution they conceived that urges the state--now facing its second straight dry year--to use drought-resistant plants in landscaping around new buildings.

“We’re just applying social studies to real life,” said Alan Haskvitz, the teacher who launched the project and helped to persuade Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) to introduce the proposal.

Savings of Money, Water Cited

In front of TV cameras, five students testified on behalf of the resolution, arguing that their proposal would save the state money and water. As an example, they showed the committee a non-fruit-bearing strawberry tree, which they estimated would use at least 55% less water than a similar-looking jasmine bush.

One of the students, Chris Esparza, 13, told the Senate Governmental Organization Committee that the resolution “would allow the state to lead by example in the conservation of water. . . . We are taught in our class to make a difference. We in our actions today are doing just that.”

While two senators joked that the resolution should be shelved for the year, committee Chairman Ralph Dills (D-Gardena) admonished them that it was serious business. When the committee approved the measure 8 to 0 and sent it to the Senate floor, the audience of normally hard-boiled lobbyists and staffers burst into applause.

Outside the hearing room, a lobbyist was overheard to say: “I wish my witnesses testified as well.”

Sen. Campbell, whose district includes Walnut, said, “The kids came up with an idea that can have a direct impact on government.” With a smile, he added, “They’re going to think it’s (always) this easy.”

The project began last fall after Haskvitz’s third-period class planted a small garden at the school with 15 varieties of plants that require only rainwater to survive. Out of the garden grew the idea for his fourth-period class to urge the state Department of General Services to landscape with drought-resistant plants.

For months, the class has been plotting strategy. A lobbyist advised the class to write letters to legislators. An article in The Times provided them with material about drought-resistant plants. And water agencies and private firms provided statistics that showed that the use of the drought-resistant plants could save as much as $16 on a $100 water bill.

Meantime, the class raised about $4,000 selling candy and baked goods to pay for the flight to Sacramento.

Day Starts Early

On Tuesday, the students experienced a fast-paced day that began at dawn at their school. Some students admitted they were nervous about testifying before the legislators. But like other teen-agers visiting the state Capitol, the class oohed and aahed at the sights and occasionally strayed from their main mission so they could snap photographs of the historic building and their friends.

Inside the Capitol, they darted through crowded corridors to locate the offices of lawmakers they had written seeking support for the resolution. Most lawmakers were not available.

“It was something we expected,” said Miryam Longest, 13, “because we knew they were very busy.”