Three Lynchburg College art majors and a professor lobbied Congress on Tuesday to increase federal funding for the arts.
Shaina Miranda, a junior from Richmond, Laura Middlebrook and Kim Davies, both juniors from Ashburn, and associate professor of art Bev Rhoads, participated in Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. Advocates attended a Senate hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.
Americans for the Arts, a lobbying group, asked Congress to increase the annual appropriation for the National Endowment for the Arts to $200 million from the $155 million proposed in the recent omnibus bill. The request will come on the group's 22nd annual Arts Advocacy Day.
Rhoads led a discussion with U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello's (D-5th District) office at the request of the executive director of Virginians for the Arts Trish Poupore.
The students and Rhoads participated in discussions with staff from the offices of U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-6th District), Frank Wolf (R-10th District), Eric Cantor (R- 7th District), U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).
"I am very proud of our students' participation," Rhoads said. "They didn't hesitate to speak up during our lobbying sessions, and they were the only students lobbying during our conversations with the legislators we visited."
Rhoads also brought greetings to Goodlatte and Perriello from LC President Kenneth Garren, who has been working on getting federal funding to preserve College Lake, which is rapidly filling in with sediment.