~By: Collette Vladimery~

Have you ever signed up for a class where the only reason you signed up was because it was the one class that seemed interesting to you on the endless list of required General Education classes? (No offense to all the professors at Salem)Yes? Maybe? Now, when you took the class you probably had no intention in actually participating because, honestly, when are we EVER going to use any of this stuff outside of the semester? Maybe the only thing you remember from the class is the fact that you had to take it, or how you and your buddy would give each other the look of "my goodness, is the class over yet?"

I've had the pleasure of signing up for SOCI 130. A course called Making Change in Public Policy with Dr. Sharee Fowler. When I signed up I definitely thought this class wouldn't really teach me much. Maybe I would read about some legislation or watch a documentary on the Civil Rights Movement and how we can apply that to public policy today.

THIS WAS NOT THE CASE, PEOPLE. Have you ever heard the saying "get comfortable getting uncomfortable"? Well if you've never been an advocate for something or been a part of community organizing take that saying, write it down, and keep it in your pocket. You're going to need it as a good reminder.

I chose to take this class at the right place, right time.

In the midst of election season I had the opportunity to build up the courage to do something I wouldn't normally have the guts to do. The weekend before the election, I took part in phone banking and text banking with an organization called MomsRising to try to get last minute voters to the polls. They take on the most critical issues facing women, mothers, and families by educating the public and mobilizing massive grassroots actions. The people I called or texted were generally very nice and not at all scary, like I thought they would be. Obviously there were some people who were rude or just plain outrageous, but generally the good outweighed the bad.

So being part of a class that's taught me a pretty good chunk of what I need to know about grassroots organizing and advocacy and the importance of having your voice heard when everyone else in the room is screaming, OBVIOUSLY I had to take on this opportunity. Without this class, I wouldn't have taken part in this cool new experience. I know you're probably thinking "Oh, she was the reason I got all those texts." or "She took part in making those annoying phone calls and bothering people throughout the day." You're not wrong. It gets really annoying when the texts and calls roll in. I get them too. But, I think it's important that people take part in public policy and advocacy. It's important that we vote and have the information we need to make the right choices for yourself and the future of everyone.

Honestly we're all a little crazy and at least a little passionate about something. Take some of that passion and put it somewhere it matters.