"My approach has always been that you effectuate change within the systems that you have been given rather than trying to bust the system entirely."

“If you sit down and really think how much harm we’re doing from making that plastic and then letting it perpetuate in our environment for hundreds of years ... it just doesn’t make any sense,” said Rausch.

“Here in Massachusetts, we toss out 900,000 tons of plastic waste every year. That includes 2 billion plastic bags and 3.4 billion plastic bottles,” Senator Rausch said.

“Our constituents of all ages need support and proper resources to be able to thrive, and as their lawmakers, providing these resources is a central part of our jobs,” said Rausch.

The event involves students, educators, policymakers and community leaders. Its aim is ‘to strengthen constitutional democracy’ by supporting the movement for civic education and educating about how local, state and federal government works, and the role of individuals.

The bill allows for both private and semi-private locations for baby changing stations; it does not call for installation only in bathrooms.

Ranked Choice Voting empowers voters, enhances candidate ballot access, and improves democracy by allowing voters to rank their favored candidates in a particular race.

Zionism is the Jewish desire for a homeland that came to fruition after the Holocaust, and some believe progressivism should embrace the establishment of a democratic state that provides refuge to a persecuted minority.

“We are effectively smothering our planet and ourselves with plastic, and we have to address it,” said state Senator Rebecca Rausch, who chairs the Legislature’s joint committee on environment and natural resources.

Proponents of the [Hey Sam] texting hotline say it is not duplicative of existing services, as it is staffed by locals who can refer callers to local services, and the peer-to-peer structure makes it more accessible to young people who may be reluctant to reach out for help through other channels.