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Getting the City Council to Pass a Resolution
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Getting your city council to endorse the reform resolution
(sample resolution)
is the first step your campus can take towards reforming
the Higher Education Act of 1998. This will show Congress
that your community supports overturning the provision of
the HEA that denies or delays federal financial aid to drug
offenders.
These step-by-step procedures are based on the feedback
we've received from college activists working in the field.
So your constant input is essential to the national planning
of this campaign. We strongly encourage you to get in touch
with us at (202) 293-8340, or e-mail Chris Mulligan at cmulligan@raiseyourvoice.com.
A. HOW TO GET
THINGS WARMED UP
B. RAISE AWARENESS ON
CAMPUS
C. PREPARE FOR THE VOTE
D. MAKE THE CASE
E. AFTER THE MEETING
A.
HOW TO GET THINGS WARMED UP
- Find several organizations to join you.
Call other groups that you may work with about getting involved
to repeal the HEA Drug Provision, and send them the action
alert.
- Print and study the HEA
Frequently Asked Questions. Make sure you learn
and feel comfortable talking about the fundamental problems
with the HEA drug provision. You should also get acquainted
with our list of Quick
Responses to Tough HEA Questions, as these will be very
useful when engaging potential opposition.
- Print the Sample City Council
Resolution.
- Call and get on your city council agenda.
Obviously, each municipality has its own schedule and procedure
for meetings, so it is important to get on their agenda
as soon as possible and become familiar with the process.
Make sure you have adequate time to prepare for the meeting.
Find out the rules for introducing a resolution for endorsement.
- Try to meet face-to-face with one or more council
members to show them the resolution, and explain
your position before you are scheduled t to make a presentation
before the entire body. Before going in, it is crucial to
have some members and other allies on your side, so reach
out as much as possible.
B.
RAISE AWARENESS IN YOUR COMMUNITY
- Hold a meeting with an organization you belong to,
or contact individuals to meet at a library, home, place
of worship, civic hall, local college, or other space.
Invite people to speak their mind and ask questions about
HEA reform.
- Contact your local newspaper(s). Tell
reporters about your efforts, as well as the national
campaign. The earlier in the process you do this, the
more attention you will focus on the issue and the more
effective you will be. It only takes a few minutes to
bring a press release down to your newspaper's office
and offer yourself to be interviewed as a local contact.
This article will lend credibility to your efforts.
(See HEA Media Guide: How
to Write a Press Release and How
to Pitch Your Story.)
- Build a community-wide coalition. Contact leaders of
other organizations and ask them to endorse the resolution
as well. Ask if you could give a brief presentation during
one of their meetings in order to persuade them to join
up. For example, local chapters of the ACLU, NAACP, and
NOW, whose national organizations have already come out
against the HEA drug provision, should help. The strength
of the relationships you establish with such sympathetic
groups is a key to victory.
- Set up an information table in a local bookstore, coffee
shop, supermarket, or a centrally-located public space
to collect signatures on copies of the petition.
This will give you an excellent opportunity to perfect
your persuasive skills and invite more people to your
meetings.
- Customize and submit an op-ed to your local paper in
advance of your city council presentation or first meeting
to raise awareness and add more credibility to your campaign.
(See HEA
Media Guide: How to Write an Op-Ed.)
C.
PREPARE FOR THE VOTETo improve
your chances of getting the resolution passed and expand your
visibility, here are a few things you should do before you
are scheduled to speak to your city council about HEA reform:
- Mail an information packet to all council members one
week before the hearing. Get the mailing address and phone
numbers of every member and drop off the following info.
The packet should include a typed and signed one-page
cover letter with a brief explanation of who you are and
why your are contacting them, a list of frequently
asked questions, and a list
of organizations supporting repeal. You should also
enclose a copy of the original Drug
Provision, a copy of the repeal
bill with cosponsors, and an article
from a major publication about the Drug Provision.
- Call each Council member a few days after sending the
packet to make sure they got it. If you get their voice
mail, be ready to leave a concise message explaining who
you are and why you are calling. If they answer the phone,
be ready to deliver a brief pitch and answer any questions.
This is a great opportunity to establish personal connections
with individual council members or their staff, which
will make them more likely to support you when they vote.
- Send a media advisory to your local papers a few days
before the scheduled hearing. Follow up by making phone
calls to local reporters the day of the hearing, and encourage
them to attend. (See the HEA
Media Guide: How to Write a Media Advisory.)
- Reach out to all of your allies to attend the hearing,
and remind them several times to come. The size of the
crowd you assemble shows the council that you in fact
represent the interests of your community. They will hesitate
to vote against you if they see you have the community
on your side.
- 1. If you've done the previous steps, the hearing should
be much less stressful, and the chances of your SG passing
the resolution will be much higher. Make sure you know
your arguments, and bring extra materials and articles
for those who don't have them (See HEA
News Archives).
D. MAKE
THE CASE
- Key points to make: Get familiar with What is wrong
with the new provision by checking out our website and
take a close look at some of our Quick
Responses to Tough HEA Questions.
- Let your council know they can make a difference.
-
Tell them that Congress is attacking
college students because they don't believe we will stand
up for ourselves. We must send a message that the War
on Drugs must not become a War on Education. It is in
the hands of students to take a stand and tell Congress
to repeal this counterproductive and discriminatory law.
-
If your town or city is represented by
a member of the House Education
& Workforce Committee, be sure your council understands
that their support will have great persuasive power to
influence a key federal decision maker.
-
Let your council know that this resolution
does not mean that you or your city supports drug use.
By backing the resolution you agree that removing educational
opportunities is not a viable solution to youth drug abuse.
-
HELPFUL HINT: You can alter the text
of the resolution to reflect any concerns or issues specific
to your council if you think it will help to draw support
or soothe critics.
E.
AFTER THE MEETING
- If the resolution passes send out a press
release immediately. Edit our sample press release
and have it ready to fax to your press list as soon as
you get the good news. Don't wait more than a day to get
this out, and prepare
yourself to be interviewed.
- 1. If the city council tables the vote or votes against
endorsement, find out what happened and respond. Stay
in the game. Talk to the council members and find out
who's with you and who's against you. Become involved
with local politics and work to get those who would support
HEA reform elected.
- Contact us and let us
know how it went. If the resolution passed, please send
us a copy of the official SG meeting minutes. It is important
for us to have the backup if we are ever asked to prove
the endorsements. Additionally, the collection of the
documentation from all the endorsing municipalities looks
pretty impressive.
Please send the meeting minutes-as well as
any campus media coverage-to our mailing address at:
Coalition for HEA Reform
1623 Connecticut Ave., NW, Third Floor
Washington, DC 20009
You can also fax them to (202) 293-8344. We will
then add your city council to RaiseYourVoice.com and other
materials. Good luck!
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