On Jan. 8, President Donald Trump delivered an Oval Office Address and covered topics such as the government shutdown and the status of border security. In response, senior Madison Fogle decided to take action and write a letter to our local senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

For her courage to speak out, Fogle is our Bruin of the Week.

“I wrote the letter expressing that I don’t agree with the decision to hold the government hostage until the wall is funded. The Senate has the power to override the president’s veto on the budget bill,” she said.

Fogle used a website, Resistbot, in order to send the letter to McConnell and Ryan. Resistbot allows the user to be politically active through the use of a phone. If you text any of the keyword options through Messenger, Twitter, or through Text, you can do anything from writing or calling all your representatives in Congress to submitting a letter to the representatives through the local newspaper. The only thing the user has to do is write the letter and fill out the necessary information. Resistbot handles the rest.

Fogle agrees with most politicians on having border security.

“I am a very liberal person, but I do believe that border control is necessary,” she said. “I do understand that there are laws set in place for the benefit of others, for Americans. I do understand there needs to be a change because there is an issue. Most politicians do agree with that.”

Fogle believes that the main issue behind the wall is the destruction of human life on the border due to the wall being built right along the border.

“The issue for the wall is that he wants a physical border, and that will cut off through the Rio Grande, Public Land and Parks, people’s homes and businesses, and towns,” she said. “The border is not as concrete as people think it is.”

Fogle discussed the cause and effects behind Trump’s decision for the recent Government shutdown.

“He is not allowing the current budget bill to pass because he wants the House to fund his wall, and until he gets the proper amount that he wants, he won’t allow for the bill to pass,” she said. “The government shut down, and 800,000 workers aren’t going to get paid because of that. TSA workers are working for free and programs such as WIC, which feeds children on the welfare programs, are soon going to run out of money.”

Fogle received an automated message from Senator Rand Paul.

“It said, ‘Thank you Madison for contacting me and your concerns have been reviewed,’”

Even though the response was dry, Fogle is glad she wrote the letter to the senators because of the importance of staying in touch with government leaders.

“It’s very important to care about something because it’s important to understand the world, stay up to date, and keep in touch with people who can change your life forever. “

If you would like to write a letter to your senators, please go to https://resist.bot/ for more information.