Cal Poly students held a kick-off party in the University Union (UU) yesterday evening to encourage students to say no to Proposition 23. The Proposition intends to roll back Assembly Bill (AB) 32, which reduces pollution by holding polluters accountable for their actions.
Proposition 23 would stop any regulations on global warming until unemployment rates reach 5.5 percent.
The kick-off party was intended to get students excited about the “say no to Proposition 23 campaign,” run by the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG).
At the rally’s start, a few volunteers and the CALPIRG interns introduced themselves and gave their perspectives on why Proposition 23 is a bad idea.
“The campaign intends to get 5,000 pledges; 3,000 of them in the next three days,” said Lindsey Jacobson, a full-time employee at CALPIRG.
Students who attended the kick-off for the campaign were also eager to help. General engineering senior Nick Hasheider said he learned about Proposition 23 from his dad and he opposes it.
“By coming to this rally I was hoping to learn how to educate a few people so that they are better prepared and so they know more about what is going to be on our ballot,” Hasheider said.
Volunteer and environmental management and protection sophomore Yamina Pressler also got involved with Proposition 23 when CALPIRG interns talked in one of her classes.
“I don’t know why this is even on the ballot,” Pressler said. “If this passes, it will set us back at least 10 years in our race to fight global warming.”
Before the attendees of the rally split up into groups to learn more about Proposition 23, Pressler left the crowd with a few words of advice.
“We want to get all of you registered (to vote), educated (on Prop 23), and aware (of how serious this topic is),” Pressler said. “Can I get you guys to defeat Prop 23?”
While Valero and Tesoro, two Texas oil companies, want Proposition 23 to pass, Jacobson also stressed the importance of saying no to Proposition 23.
“If Proposition 23 passes, it will roll back AB 32 and dismantle all of the progress since 2006,” Jacobson said. “If it’s passed, it will be irreversible and we will never get to our state’s goal of 80 percent reduction (of pollution) by 2050.”
If the proposition passes, it could impact California’s pollution standards, which are currently regarded as the best compared to other states.
“We really need all Cal Poly students to help out in order to stop Texas oil companies from playing such a major roll in California politics,” Jacobson said.
There are several Cal Poly students already involved in this campaign.
“On campus I have 17 interns and about 50 more volunteers,” Jacobson said.
There are also a few more interns from Cuesta College. In order to gather more pledges and support from students, four booths will be set up for the next three days around campus.
“These booths will be located on Dexter Lawn, the UU, in front of the library and in Poly Canyon, so feel free to come pledge,” Jacobson said.