Update: Since this story was originally published, both SB 178 and HB 100 were passed by the Utah Legislature and signed by the governor.
Last Wednesday, Nov. 20, the Student Council took a trip to the Utah State Capitol to hear from The Focused Student Project. This year the project is proposing two new bills, one that advocates for limiting smartphones and smart watches in schools while another that supports free school lunch for qualifying families.
“We’re here rallying for cell phone policies and also food security across the state,” senior Zach Farr said. Judge Stuco representatives and about 200 other participants at the Capitol rallied to support Senate Bill 178 and House Bill 100, Food Security Amendments.
“Grassroots movements is the best way to go,” said State Rep. Doug Welton, who is also a high school teacher at Salem Hills. “We’ve got a whole bunch of concerned parents and residents who are excited to make school more meaningful. They’re here to rally for no cell phones in school and some better school lunch policies so kids aren’t hungry.”
According to the Utah Food Bank, one in six children in Utah are food insecure.
Stuco leaders Zach Farr and Delaney Dolan have been leading the effort to build a food pantry at Judge this year.
“One in six families suffer from food insecurity in the United States alone,” Dolan said. That amounts to about 56 million people, or 12% of our student body. That 12% includes our peers, that 12% includes our friends, that 12% includes our community.”
“The goal of the food pantry is not only to feed students at school,” Farr said, “but to feed the families at home.”
“Start noticing your peers and be a little more careful with the language we use around people,” said Emily Bell McCormick, founder and president of the Focused Student Project. “There are probably people in your classes who are hungry, and we want to be kind and generous with them.”
Participants also rallied in support of SB 178, Devices in Public Schools, which calls for the removal of cell phones and smart watches from schools.
At the end of the rally, Stuco members picked up postcards to be handed out to the student body so they could write to their elected representatives.
