Metzger announces members of her Student Advisory Council

Senator Jen Metzger (SD-42) convened the first meeting of her 23-member Student Advisory Council this past week.

The council members attend high schools across Metzger’s district, which includes Sullivan County and parts of Orange, Ulster and Delaware Counties and were selected, in part, for their demonstrated commitment to the betterment of their communities.

Metzger’s Student Advisory Council will provide input on legislative initiatives and work with the senator and her staff to tackle youth-specific issues and concerns in their communities.

At the first meeting, the committee delved into the topic of climate change, which was a topic that most of the students listed among their top issues during the application process. Metzger’s guest speakers Jeremy Cherson from Riverkeeper and Tim Guinee from the Climate Reality Project spoke with the council members and the students then discussed the approaches they thought would be most effective to reduce the severity of climate change, including actions that could be taken at state and local levels.

“We got right down to business in our first meeting to discuss the challenge of climate change and how we should tackle it,” said Metzger. “Their generation will be deeply affected by the actions that government takes, and I feel very fortunate to work with such a bright, engaged group of students, and get their perspectives on this important issue.”

The council includes students from the following school districts: Fallsburg, Goshen, Highland, Kingston, Liberty, New Paltz High School, Pine Bush, Port Jervis, Rondout Valley, S.S. Seward Institute, Sullivan West and Tri-Valley.

Council includes S.S. Seward senior Viola Lin and Goshen High School junior Carissa Bayack.