Honorable Quiton T. Ross Jr. from Alabama

9/19/2018

Honorable Quiton T. Ross Jr.

c/o Office of the President

Alabama State University

P.O. Box 271

Montgomery, AL   36101

Dear Honorable Ross Jr.,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan and I have a strong interest in learning history, social justice, and diversity.  In these subjects or core values, I like to learn the need for Civil Rights to be stronger to reduce discrimination, protect the environment from pollution, and the need to improve social justice to make communities safe.  Honorable Ross Jr.,  the main reason I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work when you served in the Alabama State legislature and in you current role as President of Alabama State University to be very inspiring me.

When you served as a Member of the Alabama Senate from the 26^th District from 2002-2017, I truly appreciate on how you were a strong supporter of Civil Rights by advocating for people with disabilities’ rights, working with state legislatures to help expand laws to combat against hate crimes to help protect minorities including people who are different, and expressing the need for equal pay for women to help protect them from being discriminated in pay based on gender. Supported funds for renewable energy resources to help reduce addiction to oil with gas, encouraged companies including industries to use energy-efficient products to help reduce high energy cost while reduce pollution, and pushed for funds to help clean parks including water resources to make them safe for people to use is common sense to protect the environment.  On the economy, I liked on how you supported to expand on job-training programs to help train youth including workers to develop work-skills to help prepare for the work force and expressed the need to raise the minimum wage to help workers afford to live.  Another thing that I liked about your work in the Alabama State Senate is how tried to push for ethics reform to help ban gifts to state legislators including government staff from lobbyist to reduce corruption.  In your current role as President of Alabama State University, I truly like on how you are continuing to support Civil Rights, hire more women, minorities, and people with disabilities to work for the college, and expand scholarships to help students who have trouble paying tuition or come from low-income families get assistance to get an education.  On education reform, I liked on how you provide accommodations to help students with disabilities to help on learning like extra time on exams or have educational software to help improve comprehension, implement more Liberal Arts classes (history, arts, humanities, and diversity) to make education diverse to learn, and push for more tutoring services for students to get help on their assignments or courses from tutors.  Another thing that I like about your work as current President of Alabama State University is how you work with student organizations to improve the campus and advocate for immigration reform to help immigrants including refugees be protected from being oppressed while get an education.

Honorable Ross, I have autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending on learning different advance subjects, sometimes I struggle to communicate my thoughts, and get teased.  Your commitment to be a strong supporter of Civil Rights including people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability. Also your role as Member of the Alabama Senate from the 26^th District and as current role as President of University of Alabama gives me motivation to continue to learn history, social justice, and diversity. My future goal is to someday work in these areas to help emphasize the need to make Civil Rights stronger to reduce discrimination, protect the environment from pollution, improve social justice to make communities a better place, and many others.

I strongly believe that you made a great difference when you served in the Alabama State Senate. Also I like on how you are working hard to support Civil Rights, push for education reform, and many others. You have inspired me to work hard to work hard on my disability and be motivated to continue to learn history, social justice, and diversity.  Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, working hard to make a great impact on society, and inspiring me.  I wish you the best to continue to advocate for common sense ideas.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick