Everybody’s favorite education/economic investment/just-plain-fairness issue – Tuition Equity (aka Senate Bill 742) needs you to pick up your phone & help again, Bus friends.

What you can / should / realllllyfrickingshould do:

1. Find your State Rep.’s phone # here.
2. Grab your phonephone
3. Dial that thang
4. Sing your little heart out for Tuition Equity and tell ‘em you support SB 742 & want them to vote yes (note: do not actually sing) .

A brief refresher on Senate Bill 742: it allows long-time, high-achieving Oregon students to get unsubsidized in-state tuition, regardless of their documentation status.

The Legislative Fiscal Office found that it doesn’t cost the state any money and people love it across the ideological divide (everybody from Oregon Education Association to the Associated Oregon Industries – an unlikely pairing to say the least) because it’s good for edcuation AND for the economy. Oh yeah.

We dig it because it keeps smart, talented, hard-working young folks in Oregon (which will make for a stronger economy in the long-run) and because of the simple fact that it treats people fairly. Justice, people, justice.

Your phone calls could make one heckuva difference for these students (and for Oregon’s future). So pick up that line & dial dial dial.

If you want more info on the bill/a few ideas for what to say, we told you to go here & we didn’t lie.

A few talking points, if we may:

• Please support Senate Bill 742 (duh)
• Tuition Equity helps long-time, high-achieving Oregon students continue their education
• Tuition Equity is a great investment in Oregon’s 21st century economy by keeping top talent here
• Tuition Equity makes sure our K-12 investment doesn’t go to waste
• Tuition Equity will help create the educated workforce Oregon needs to compete
• Please support Senate Bill 742 (so right, you should say it twice)

A few links about why Tuition Equity’s a great idea:

Portland Tribune: Tuition Equity is good for students, state

Hillsboro Argus: Have Some Class

Why, Hello Fellow there.

Everybody’s favorite leadership bootcamp,  PolitiCorps, is gettin’ so close you can smell it. Mmmmmmm.

This June, a crack-team of the best young folks America has to offer will touch down in Oregon for a nonstop rollercoaster of civic excitement.

It’s basically like one of the Ocean’s movies, but with 24 people instead of 11, 12 or 13; building a better democracy instead of knocking over casinos; and there will be absolutely no Casey Affleck.

Applications are still rolling (apply here), but the first round of Fellows have been chosen and it’s time to meet ‘em.

Check out these new Fellows, nominate the heck out of somebody or apply your own dang self today.

(Reposted from The Bus Project Foundation)

So…this is really cool.

Ok, we’ve been hiding something from you.

Didn’t wanna say anything before it was official, but awhile back MTVU (Music Television for collegiates) approached us about doing a mini series on our leadership training program PolitiCorps.

It’s called Generation Democracy* (let it be known: we did not come up with the name). The first few episodes were filmed last summer. Peep the promo.

At first, we were a little hazy on the whole thing. Didn’t want any teary confessionals about Ben Fain, know what we’re sayin’?

But seriously, we’re so pumped, you have no idea.

Watch it. Love it. Spread it around. We’re going nuts about it over here.

*Generation Democracy is the sole property of MTVU, a program of MTV Networks, a member of the Viacom Family. Promotional materials of Generation Democracy may not be used for the profit of anybody. Also, this is totally made up. It’s an april fools, suckers. Hope you liked the video. PolitiCorps rocks. Bus 4 Life. Seacrest Out.

Even cuter than Larry Summers*.

We already know that everybody loves Farm to School, that sweet program that gets local Oregon food in Oregon school lunches (goodbye frozen fish-sticks, hellooooooo strawberry delight).

We know that it makes kids healthier, reduces nutrition disparities and helps tackle obesity among the wee ones.

But what everybody needs to know is that the economics of the thing are so good, even 8-year-olds get it.

OBSERVE:

Upon hearing that Farm to School was a priority from Rebooting Democracy 2010, this small cadre of pint-sized PhDs requested that we record one of their daily discussions on the topic.

The above documentary was a joint venture of Upstream Public Health and the Bus. We would submit it to next year’s Oscars, but we don’t really want to be associated with an institution that gives awards to Alice in Wonderland.

If you want to help out Farm to School, it’s getting a hearing on Wednesday at the Capitol at 3pm. Hit up beloved Bus alum Mollie Ruskin (mollie@upstreampublichealth) if you want to go.

*Clearly we’re kidding about Dr. Summers. Agree or disagree with his economic philosophy, there’s no arguing that the dude looks like a Disney villain.

DANG, that’s a good idea.

This morning, the Bus is rolling down to Salem for Tuition Equity. Young folks from all over Oregon are descending on our beloved Capitol.

Why, you ask? Um, we sorta already told you: Tuition Equity (the bill # is Senate Bill 742, for you legal beagles).

If you haven’t heard of it, prepare your brain for a great idea:

Tuition Equity helps lay the foundation for Oregon’s 21st century economy AND also happens to be the moral right thing to do (can you GET any more lovable?). It offers in-state tuition to long-time Oregonian students who have graduated from Oregon high schools and been accepted to Oregon colleges, but who never received documentation when they were brought to America (so long as they are working toward citizenship now).

Reasons Tuition Equity is awesome:

• It keeps top talent in Oregon, which will help us compete in that global economy everybody talks so much about (starting innovative businesses and offering a highly skilled workforce to attract new businesses).
• It brings tuition money into Oregon when we desperately need it (see, it’s not that they’re paying out-of-state tuition rates for Oregon schools now – many just aren’t going to school here at all, which is losing Oregon money. Duh).
• We already know that leadership doesn’t depend on where you came from or how you got here. Tuition Equity recognizes that and does something about it.
• The students who would receive it are proud Oregonians; many of them have spent basically their entire lives here. It only makes sense to treat them as Oregonians.

If you want to watch some excellent young people doing some sweet democracy, watch the hearing here at 1pm.

Also, gotta give props to the rest of the coalition that have been leadin’ the way on Tuition Equity:

• Oregon Student Association
• Oregon Students of Color Coalition
• Oregon DREAMers
• CAUSA
• APANO
• CIO
• Oregon Education Association
• Oregon Business Association
• AFT-Oregon
• SEIU
• Associated Oregon Industries
• And many, many more (let us know if you want the other names)

Not just left or right, but forward, folks. Let’s do this thing.

Bottled at the source.

The legislative session’s been up and runningjogging walking it off for about a month now & we figured it was time to give you a little bit of a heads up about the stuff we’re doing in the ol’ Salem.

(And yes – this is one lengthy e-mail. Sometimes you gotta get long-winded if you wanna keep folks in the loop.)

Modernizing voter registration

(Rebooting Democracy priority #1)

A few weeks back, Bus rockstar Dina Yazdani – with a dozen Bus peeps as backup – spoke oh-so eloquently supporting a few bills that would allow voters to have their voter registrations follow them when they move. A novel idea, right?

We’re also pushin’ for improving & modernizing how public assistance agencies register their clients to vote (which has led to HUGE gains in registration in communities of color and low-income communities in other states – a BFD, if you will).

The bill #s, if you want ‘em: House Bill 2880, 2886 and 3061

Supporting & protecting yer right to vote

(Permanent Bus priority)

On the supporting side, a bountiful bevy of Bus folks testified in favor of extending the length of time people can register to vote before elections. Big ups especially to Daisy Quinonez & Salome Chimuku for their smarty pants testimony.

On the protecting side, we’re fighting a bill that would require you to staple a copy of your birth certificate to your voter registration card. Since people don’t tend to carry around their birth certificates (or portable copy machines for that matter), it’d make voter registration close to impossible for just about everybody, but especially young people, people of color and low-income folks. An awesome coalition has come together to stop it, which is sweet. We’ll keep you posted.

Those bill #s: House Joint Resolution 21 & House Bill 2804

Farm to School

(Rebooting Democracy Priority #2)

Gettin’ locally-sourced food into local school cafeterias. No brainer, right? Well, we think so. We’re workin’ with Upstream Public Health to get a little bit of hype around the thing (coming soon). It’s alsogetting a hearing on March 9th at 3pm, so you should definitely be there.

That bill #: House Bill 2800

Tuition Equity

One of the smartest pieces of economic policy that also happens to be the right moral thing to do – offering in-state tuition to long-time Oregon students who graduated from Oregon high schools, have been accepted to Oregon colleges and are working toward citizenship, but who didn’t receive documentation when their parents brought them to America. It keeps top talent in Oregon, will help us compete in the new economy and is just plain fair.

(Photo credit to Tuition Equity leaders OSA)

The bill #: Senate Bill 742

Cool Schools

One of those win-win-win ideas.Cool Schools reduces energy usage, creating jobs & improving student performance by bringing energy retrofits to schools. We dig it & you should too.

The bill #: House Bill 2960

As always, if you wanna help on any of these ballin’ bills, hit us up. We wanna get your sweet faces in Salem.

Friends of the good,

For the past year+, the Bus has been moving through a transition process, and now comes a milestone in that process: January was my last month as Executive Director of the Oregon Bus Project.

I am filled with nostalgia, gratitude, confidence and more hope than ever for the future of the Bus and of our state. While I am forever on the Bus and will stay close to our work in Oregon, it is time to turn over the keys to the extraordinary rising leaders of the Bus.

Just about every piece of the Bus inspires me, but nothing more so than the innovative and committed people involved. The Bus has been able to do democracy’s great work because of inspiring leaders who do that work.

Caitlin Baggott is one such leader.

She begins her new role as Executive Director of the Bus today. She was one of the key volunteers who helped get the Bus Project started in 2002 and even co-designed the original Bus itself.

She is one of the very smartest, toughest, and most caring people I know. She has always brought a unique mix of fierce brilliance and deep empathy to the Bus’s work. Among her many achievements in the last few years, she has turned PolitiCorps into a nationally-renown program and helped empower women leaders across Oregon by helping to kickstart The MotherPAC.

Expect extraordinary things.

I’ve never been more excited about the future of the Bus. This is not a goodbye for me; it’s a giddy hello to a vital, new era of the organization.

The history of the Bus will be defined more by the next nine years than by the past nine. We, the Bus Family, are positioned to do critical work in democracy — helping to build a greater world for the next generation and developing great people to help lead it.

Get on the Bus.

Sincerely,

Jefferson Smith

Founder of the Bus Project

____________

Hey Bus Family,

Caitlin here. If it wasn’t apparent from perusing Jefferson’s half of this note, we’re going for heartfelt/sappy. Heck, we can’t be smartasses all the time.

The opportunity to serve the Bus in this new role is a super-sized honor. Jefferson has built an extraordinary thing here. I’m grateful both for what this organization has accomplished for Oregon under his leadership, and the leader I have become through almost nine years of collaboration and partnership with Jefferson.

Since the Bus was first conceived (cocktail napkin, bar), the Bus Family has knocked on over 300,000 doors, created an award-winning national get out the vote program, helped bring online voter registration to Oregon, and brought transformational leadership to government, non-profits and businesses across the country with a constellation of new leaders.

And there’s a lot more to do.

This political moment not only needs the Bus, but needs us to do our thing better than ever before. The decisions our democracy makes and the leaders our democracy empowers will determine what kind of world we inherit. It’s not enough to address just one of these two obligations. We need to do great things and build great leaders.

We can do both, because of the Bus Family. Because of you.

As we turn the corner to this next legislative session, we’ll all need to step up. We need to protect the right of every Oregon citizen to vote. We need to make it clear that young Oregonians need both a strong social service network and a strong economy with next generation jobs. Like all of our work, these ideas aren’t about left or right, they’re about moving forward, together.

I invite you to join us in pioneering the next leg of this journey together. (And you don’t even have to wear buckskin to do it.)

Please join the Bus in the next year and the next decade as a volunteer, a member, and a leader, and we’ll do great things for Oregon together.

On the Bus!

Caitlin Baggott

Executive Director of the Bus Project

P.S. Lest Jefferson thinks he’s going to get off easy, rest assured friends and family — there will be a proper thank you (ahem — did someone say “roast”?) for Jefferson’s incredible service.