We are writing in response to the public hearing May 4 on L.D. 99, a bill to clean up the Androscoggin River. Environmentalists, millworkers, students, union representatives, city officials, mill executives, fishermen and doctors came before the Natural Resources Committee to give testimony on a very personal and complex issue. It was the responses and behavior of the committee members, not the sharing of differing beliefs by Maine citizens, that was most unsettling and disappointing.

College students are often identified as idealists. Some would say we lack real-world experience or that we are nave. Idealists or not, the process we witnessed was flawed. The committee’s behavior during the hearing conveyed a seeming lack of respect for the bill, for the process and for the citizens present.

During the testimonies from citizens both for and against L.D. 99, the committee members were inappropriate and unprofessional. The atmosphere created by the committee members through condescending comments, inappropriate humor, exaggerated facial expressions, sarcasm and persistent inter-committee chatter, hindered the opportunity for citizens to be taken seriously. Specifically, we were disheartened by the patronizing and even hostile comments and questions from certain committee members meant to rattle citizens, rather than to clarify the issues.

We call upon the Natural Resource Committee to actively foster an atmosphere of respect in which the voices of Maine’s citizens can be heard. Though we were criticized for our idealism, we hope that the real world has not completely eroded the optimism of the committee members.

Josh Stoll, Brittany Clement and Kristen Johnson, Lewiston

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