Eric's Blog

My Dad was the first in his family to go to college and would never have been able to attend USC if it weren’t for the scholarships he received. When I attended Columbia, I was fortunate to earn a scholarship to help pay for some of my expenses. Currently, more than 24,000 students in the LA Community College District receive Pell Grants to help them pay for their higher education. Without this assistance, millions of young people each year would not be able to reach their goal of attending college.

Which is why I was so thrilled to see President Obama propose expansions of both the number of people eligible for financial aid as well as the amounts they are eligible for as part of his 100 days agenda. The president’s goal to improve access to college for lower-income students to make sure they have a better shot of achieving success later in life is a laudable one.

A quick rundown of the reforms President Obama has initiated:

* Increased the number and amounts of Pell Grants
* Created American Opportunity Tax Credit
* Increased Work Study funding
* Allows 529 funds to be used to buy computers

We know that college graduates have an advantage when applying for jobs and they earn more money over their lifetimes (studies show that the average college graduate will earn $1 million more in his or her lifetime than the average high school graduate.) It’s imperative that government play a part in expanding access to assistance for those that need it most so we can level the playing field and make a first class education accessible for everyone again.

To make sure young Angelenos are informed as to the financial aid they’re eligible for, my office holds regular Cash For College workshops. Check back here at the blog for updates and be sure to go to LACashForCollege.org for more information.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of Hollywood High School’s Young Feminists Club, which was founded by Hollywood High senior Sandy Merida with the assistance of the Hollywood chapter of The National Organization for Women. I arrived at the classroom as a discussion about domestic abuse was underway and I was extremely impressed with the size and diversity of the group (among just under 20 attendees, 3 or 4 were guys) and the level of discussion they were having.

I told them I was proud to call myself a feminist and that I’ve been one all my life. Growing up with a sister and female cousins all around me and being a minority of one, I came to have great respect for women and always saw them as my equal. It’s difficult even to think that someone might not think that way, but the reality is that our society still does not put men and women on equal footing, which is why groups like Sandy’s are so important.

We spoke a lot about power at the meeting and while most of the discussion focused on the abuse of power, I suggested to them that power in and of itself is neutral; in most relationships we’re in, one person has more power than the other, whether it be teacher-student, parent-child, employer-employee, siblings or spouses. That’s not inherently a bad thing. It’s how that power is used that is crucial. Merely by founding this group, Sandy used her own power as an individual and by coming to that meeting, those kids were empowering themselves, not only with information but also by the mere fact of gathering and organizing. They have more power as a group than they think. I invited them to think about what laws they might want passed, whether it be to strengthen teen dating violence laws or change funding for girls’ sports programs versus boys’ sports programs. Imagine if they could say they helped pass a law that made this a more just world. Now that is powerful.

Meet Sandy in a video we put together of my time at Hollywood High below.

Since I came into office in 2001, it’s been important to me to empower the public by showing them how city government works. On Wednesday, my office held the latest of our Government 101 workshops where over 50 people showed up to sit in on a city council meeting and learn such things as:

• what the city is responsible for, as distinct from county government
• the responsibilities of different elected officers
• the legislative process and how residents can impact it

It’s only through understanding the innerworkings of government that we can begin to directly influence it. As our new president is fond of saying, real change can only happen from the bottom up and as a community organizer myself, I consider it my goal to create a more informed electorate and one that has the tools to make that change they desire.

Thanks to everyone who attended, it was a great turnout.