Indigenous People’s Day: 5 Advocates You Should Know About
Happy Indigenous People’s Day! Here in New Jersey, the topic of renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day is highly contested. As of writing this blog, only Newark and Princeton currently recognize this day as Indigenous People’s Day. The…
Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating Three Inspiring Change Makers
The Hispanic population in the United States has faced a long road on their march towards equity and fairness. Treading that path of discrimination and violence is all too familiar to other minority groups in the United States. Their…
Mental Health Courts: the Need to Reevaluate it in Our Criminal Justice System
By: Brennan B. Sumner A pressing issue facing our society today is the role our justice system plays in its effect on vulnerable communities, like the criminalization of mental Illness. Those diagnosed with mental health issues are too often…
State Senator or Congressional Senator… What is the difference and why should you care?
By: Abel Morais Senator Lesniak, Senator Booker, Senator Menedez, and Senator Weinberg, what do they all have in common? They all hold the title of Senator and are all from New Jersey. Sure, they are all Democrats, but that…
The Freedom Summer Proves Knowledge is Our Greatest Weapon
By: Paige Fleming The pen is mightier than the sword. An old adage, this saying has been heard time and time again to mean that knowledge is our greatest weapon. No more does this ring true than during…
One Year Later: A Reflection on George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and the Future
By: Keyonna Murray It’s one year. One year since the murder of a man from Minneapolis, Minnesota changed the course of America forever. At the beginning of 2020, the sudden arrival of COVID-19 forced millions of…
NJ Needs Zero Emission Trucks
The following contains Senator Raymond J. Lesniak’s testimony at the DEP hearing on May 20, 2021 for Advanced Clean Trucks Program and Fleet Reporting Requirements. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Governor Murphy and…
Third Anniversary of Legal Sports Betting in NJ
On May 14, 2018, while in the locker room at Suburban golf course, I received a call from Monmouth Racetrack CEO Dennis Drazin who told me the United States Supreme Court had upheld my legislation authorizing sports betting in…
Top 6 Bills Targeting Environmental Issues
By: Maggie Garbarino It is important this Earth Day to reflect on the most pressing environmental protection issues of our time. Currently, human activity is on track to do significant, permanent damage to our planet and it is our…
Community Cats Need Compassion, Not Euthanasia
By Nicole Marchione Can you imagine streets filled with hundreds of roaming cats? This is what you should envision will happen if a Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return (TNVR) program is not put in place in municipalities such as…
This Boy is my Brother
By: Keyonna Murray There’s a young boy in Northern New Jersey who was born in the mid-2000’s. With a bright smile and a contagious joy, he was always a person who brought some much-needed perspective to his family. In…
World Down Syndrome Day: How a Mothers’ Personal Story Continues to Make a Difference
By: Maggie Garbarino Every year, World Down Syndrome Day is observed on March 21st, a date symbolically chosen to represent the triplication of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. Advocates in New Jersey, and all over the country,…
Patricia Perkins-Auguste, Creating New Models for Building Successful Neighborhoods
Patricia Perkins-Auguste, Councilwoman-At-Large, City of Elizabeth, is a career public servant who embodies the principles of biblical teachings and practical delivery of professional public services to her community, constituents and business interests in and around the City of Elizabeth,…
Senator Weinberg, Breaking Down Barriers
New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg is retiring this year after serving in the Senate since 2005. She was first elected to public office on the Teaneck Township Council in 1990, completing her council term in 1994. She served in…
Salena Lesniak, My Remembrance on Women’s History Month
We celebrated Salena’s birthday February 27th. She would have been 45 years old. Sadly she died July 3, 2019 of arteriosclerosis, a silent killer. Salena was a standout from her teens, being one of the founders of Dems 2000,…
Top 6 Books Every Advocate Should Read
By: Abel Morais For National Read Across America Day, I have put together a list of books that will be beneficial for advocates in order to become champions of change. All of these books are some of my favorites…
Students need mental health services now more than ever
By Paige Fleming As our “new normal” becomes more permanent, students are struggling to find balance and strength in dealing with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and social deprivation. The mental strain of the COVID-19 pandemic…
It’s About Protecting Lives, It Shouldn’t Be That Hard?
By: Abel Morais There are 72 jurisdictions where being gay or trans is criminalized. Punishments can range from fines to death in some cases. Under Secretary John Kerry, who was the Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017,…
Remembering 9/11 Together, Six Feet Apart
By: Ashley Gadalla Through the fog and smoke, they could not see. There was fire, glass, and piles of debris. With screams and cries, fear ran through the streets. 9/11 should have been a time of defeat. But from…
Support NJ’s Environmental Justice Bill
By: Katie Parrish In a typical year, Communities of Color and low income communities face increased health issues such as asthma because they are overexposed to toxic air pollution. Now, with the added risk of Covid-19, it is…
The Road to Student Press Rights: An Interview
By: Tiffany Osoria The current landscape for student publishing rights in New Jersey is pretty grim. Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, a supreme court case that ruled in favor of administrators having control in approving school publications, has set the norm…
Colleges and Universities Reopening Amidst Health Pandemic
By: Abel P. Morais Jr. On Thursday, July 9th, the New Jersey Assembly Higher Education Committee met with representatives from public and private institutions of higher education from across New Jersey. This meeting allowed for each representative to…
Pending Police Reform Laws In New Jersey
By Katelyn Piorkowski NJ residents are demanding systematic change to protect minority communities as they take to the streets in honor of Geroge Floyd and countless other black lives lost to unjust acts of police brutality across the…
Carteret Makes History at My First Protest
By Paige Fleming Growing up in a small town is nothing like how it’s portrayed in movies. No, we don’t know everybody’s names, and we don’t keep our doors unlocked at night. But one thing is for sure:…
The Top 5 Environmental Advocates
By Abel Morais To celebrate Earth Week, I have put together a Top 5 list of environmental advocates whom I personally feel have made an impact on environmental protection through their advocacy. Who am I you may ask?…
The Lemkin Summit To End Genocide and Mass Atrocities
By Abel Morais This is me standing outside of Capitol Hill with the other Kean University Students who had the opportunity to go to the summit! I recently had the opportunity to attend the Lemkin Summit…
The LGBTQ+ Community & The Equality Act
By: Michael Gonzales, B.A. Political Science The LGBTQ+ Community, also known as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, etc. community, is much more than your average community: It’s a family. It’s a natural unification of similarly oppressed people to…
What Happens to Bills That Were Not Passed During the Lame-Duck Session?
The 219th New Jersey Legislature begins its session on January 14, 2020 and with it comes expired proposed legislation, opportunities for new proposals, and new incumbents to contact. The lame-duck session is the period of time when the Legislature…
Sharks Need Their Fins, We Do Not
By: Jamie Zaccaria, Wildlife Conservationist, Burlington, NJ Governor Murphy has taken a huge step to make New Jersey a leader in conservation by signing S2905, which prohibits certain possession, sale, trade, distribution, or offering for sale of shark fins….
My Experience at a State Senate Meeting
Written by: Sabrina Ahmed, Lesniak Institute Intern, Fall 2019 On November 18th, I was given the opportunity to observe a State Senate meeting as a specialist intern for the Lesniak Institute. My superior, Sarah Mack, thoughtfully explained that the…
