In conjunction with the Joint Committee on Higher Education, we hope to build long-term support for public higher education in the legislature.” Representatives Garballey, Rodrigues, Fagan, Kocot and Arciero, spoke eloquently about the need to invest in public higher education and make it affordable for students in the Commonwealth. PHENOM organized testimony that was presented to the legislators by Ruthie Liberman, Director of Policy and Advocacy for the Crittenton Women’s Union, Hadiza Iddrisu, student at UMass Dartmouth, and Ira Rubenzahl, President of Springfield Technical Community College.