We need you now more than ever to continue building a #DebtFreeFuture.
Photo: Hundreds of students showing our power at the State House on March 5, 2018. (Jen Ford/PHENOM)
Hey PHENOMenal community!
Thank you for joining us for our sixth weekly update. We got some very bad news today regarding the Fair Share Amendment. Wealthy corporate interests won their lawsuit to protect their rich friends. The Fair Share Amendment will not be on the ballot in November.
Thousands of PHENOM members put their sweat and hard work into getting Fair Share on the ballot and planned to do even more to ensure its victory. We knew this was a major chance to get the funding we need to build a #DebtFreeFuture on the road to free public higher ed for all.
While we don’t have the opportunity that Fair Share provided, now more than ever we know that we need to join together and build a strong coalition to get the change students and families in Massachusetts desperately need.
That’s why we are formally announcing that the Fair Share decision will not be the end of our #DebtFreeFuture campaign. We will take this disappointing result and use it to motivate more fundamental transformative action this summer and through the next year.
PHENOM will continue with our summer organizing plan in several respects.
- Keep fighting this week during our #DebtFreeFuture Social Media Week of Action to show how much we need these investments and how angry people are about the loss of the Fair Share Amendment.
- Schedule our first #DebtFreeFuture Campaign Call to create and confirm some new shared goals and vision. Please fill out this when2meet scheduler!
- Reach out to your personal networks, invite them to join our #DebtFreeFuture work, and fill out this form so we can get them involved!
- Build our Legislative Report Card for August launch because now all of these decisions are in the hands of state lawmakers and its essential that we can hold them accountable.
- Ramp up our media actions, with op-eds and letters to the editor across the state about our anger with the Fair Share decision and the deep need for investments in students and families at our public colleges and universities.
Please join us at the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance (MEJA) Statewide Convening this Saturday to regroup and join with hundreds of public education defenders and activists to fight for our public schools and colleges. RSVP here if you haven’t already.
Onward!
The PHENOM Board and Staff
Zac Bears
Executive Director
Sydney Little
Organizing Director
Kim Selwitz
President
Amy Blanchette
Vice President and President-elect
James Cordero
Vice President-elect
Max Page
Treasurer
Elizabeth Pellerito
Treasurer-elect
Colleen Avedikian
Secretary
Mickey Prout
Secretary-elect
Gillian Mason
Fundraising Team Leader
Vicki Dzindzichashvili
Communications Team Leader
Ken Haar and Timmy Sullivan
Legislative Team Leaders
Erika Civitarese and Charlotte Kelly
Organizing Team Leaders