New Hampshire lawmakers heading into the State House to hear the governor’s state of state address Thursday were met with young people holding signs representing a broad range of issues, from affordability and the cost of college to gun rights and climate protections. They may not have agreed on every issue, but they all shared one goal: to get the attention of the people making decisions about their future.
Plymouth State University senior Jeremiah Githu said he sees no incentives to stay in New Hampshire after he graduates. He said lawmaker’s $30 million budget cut to the state’s college last year shows they don’t value public education. His advisor and some of his professors have left their jobs, and his tuition bill increased.
“New graduates are not wanted in New Hampshire,” Githu said. “The youth are not wanted in New Hampshire.”
Grace Murray, political director for the New Hampshire Youth Movement, said lawmakers have prioritized tax cuts for business and wealthy Granite Staters over investments in education and affordable housing.
“I love New Hampshire. I was born here, went to school here, and now I'm building my life here as a young adult,” Murray said. “Unfortunately, though, it seems that Kelly Ayotte and her Republicans are trying to push young, working people like me out of the state.”
Other students called on lawmakers to pass a bill that would allow people to carry firearms on the state’s public college campuses. The legislation, filed by Rep. Sam Farrington, a Republican and senior at the University of New Hampshire, cleared the House 188-165 and is headed to the Senate.
For Eliot Boutin, a UNH senior and state chair of Young Americans for Liberty, the bill is about safety. He cited the fatal shooting of unarmed students at Brown University last year.
“The right to bear arms doesn't end as soon as you walk on campus,” Boutin said. “The right to self-defense is innate and natural.”