On April 16th, students from STPP's Policy Advocacy and Lansing Day seminar visited the State Capitol. We are grateful to Cindy Bank, recently retired Associate Director of Policy Engagement at the Ford School, for her expertise and partnership with this project. Ranging from first-year undergraduates to advanced doctoral candidates, students met with elected officials and their staff to advocate for bills addressing data center regulation, data privacy, and maternal health.
MPP/STPP student Parker Griffith ('27) reflected:
It was great to return to advocacy work, which I haven't had much opportunity to do since starting my MPP. As AI infrastructure continues to scale, questions around its economic, environmental, and community impacts are only becoming more important. I'm looking forward to following these bills and seeing how Michigan navigates this emerging policy space.
Parker's project teammate, Jolie Oleshansky (BS Cognitive Science, Public Policy minor '27) was similarly energized by the experience. She writes:
Most surprisingly, policymakers across the aisle all had concerns about data centers and were seeking continued education on their long-term impacts. As I enter my final year at the University of Michigan, I hope to continue learning about how technology impacts different communities and how individuals can influence local and statewide change.
