BySenators Hunt, Robinson, Das, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Lovick, Nobles, Randall, Saldaña, Wellman, and C. Wilson

WHEREAS, When  The  Evergreen  State College's first  class entered in 1971, the college was seen by many as a grand experiment; and

WHEREAS, Former Governor and United States Senator Daniel J. Evans signed legislation authorizing the formation of the college and played a key role in shaping the college as Evergreen President; and

WHEREAS, The creation of a four-year public college that prioritized teaching and learning over grades or majors signaled that the people were ready to explore new possibilities  for  their  educational  institutions—to see what would happen if we empowered people to formally pursue what they were most passionate about; and

WHEREAS, Evergreen's  unique  design put students and faculty in close collaboration with each other, and the college quickly became a place bursting with creativity and innovation; and

WHEREAS, Ever-evolving  to meet the needs of students and the state of Washington, Evergreen continues to carry that spirit for learning as  it  celebrates  its 50th  anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Famous Evergreen graduates include Ben Haggerty (known as Macklemore), Matt Groening, Joyce McConnell (first female president of Colorado State University), Elizabeth Furse (first African-born naturalized citizen elected to Congress), Denny Heck, Yasmin Trudeau, Sharon Tomiko Santos, and Jessica Bateman; and

WHEREAS, The way  that Evergreen  teaches people to work together  has played a big role in  the success of its alumni; and

WHEREAS, From the beginning,  Evergreen has  sought  to bolster access to  its  dynamic learning model, especially for populations who have historically been excluded from higher education; and

WHEREAS, Evergreen  welcomes  those who seek an affordable education that will launch them into the future they envision for  themselves,  and  the college  does  everything in  its  power to help them achieve success; and

WHEREAS, Evergreen has always been about giving people the support they need, whether  it is  an advisor showing a first-generation student how to navigate their career opportunities, a faculty member empowering someone to overcome their fear of math, or a tutor encouraging a fellow student to dig deeper into their ideas; and

WHEREAS, Evergreen has prepared people to meet their futures with confidence, equipping graduates for careers in public service, science, entrepreneurship, education, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, No longer an experiment, this year  Evergreen  honors  its  past, celebrates  the present, and projects  its strengths toward the future;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate celebrate The Evergreen State College and its 50 years; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to President John Carmichael, the Board of Trustees of The Evergreen State College, and Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck.