COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS : Students to Lobby Sacramento

A group of College of the Canyons students will be in the state capital Jan. 7-10 to make its presence known to legislators.

The goal of the trip, sponsored by the Community College Awareness Committee, a division of the student government, is to inform rather than persuade lawmakers, Chairwoman Jodi Grass said.

“When I went to Sacramento before, I noticed that the students go up there only if they want something,” Grass said.

“Basically, we are going up there to represent community colleges and say we care. We want them to know who we are so that when the legislation does come up, and we go back, they’ll remember us. They will feel like they have a connection with us,” Grass added.

Dianne Van Hook, college superintendent-president, said she was impressed with the students’ efforts but concerned about their timing.

“They need to coordinate and make sure the message is constant and strong,” she said. “Early January may be too soon. You have to go when you have an issue to push and when people will listen to you.”

About 10 students from the Santa Clarita Valley campus will hand out flyers to legislators containing community college statistics such as average age group, ethnic diversity, and average transfer and graduation rates.

Grass said the purpose of the students’ flyers is to inform the legislators about how the community college student body has changed during the last 10 years.

“For so long, community colleges were looked at as the 13th and 14th grades or the place students would go when they didn’t get accepted into a four-year school. That isn’t true. We are a real college. We have good students and we do vote,” Grass said.

Although the students are from College of the Canyons, they want to emphasize the importance of all community colleges. The group also plans to give legislators pins that contain slogans such as “I love community colleges.”

The group is seeking donations to fund the trip, estimated to cost $2,000 for hotel rooms, food and transportation.