Mt. Sierra students lobby for Gold Line

A group of students at Mt. Sierra College in Monrovia has gone viral in its fight to get the Gold Line extended from Pasadena to Montclair.

The students, twentysomething telecomm, multimedia and graphic majors from throughout the Valley, have created a campaign that combines graphic elements like posters and postcards with a robust Web presence featuring an Internet site, MySpace and Facebook pages to promote construction of the proposed $1.4 billion light rail line. The project is currently stuck in limbo, with the Metro Board of Directors balking at placing it on the agency's long-range plan -- a crucial step in order to leverage about $320 million in federal funds to complete the first leg to the Azusa/Glendora border.

The Web site, www.iwillride.org, showcases the clever marketing techniques the students came up with to promote their cause, with reverse-psychology style pitches like "Efficient Travel is Overrated" and "The San Gabriel Valley is Not Important" (both with the caveat, "Let's Beg to Differ") cleverly drawing viewers into the argument. There are also opportunities to sign a petition to ride the Gold Line once built (38 signatures collected already -- many from non-students -- even before the campaign has officially launched) as well as a chance to post one's own YouTube video lauding the benefits of light rail.

Check it out, these kids are really geared up and they've effectively taken their enthusiasm into the brave new world of 21st century, electronic grassroots activism. The students got limited assistance from the Metro Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority, the agency trying to build the line. But the help was consultative in nature; everything from the Web site to the graphics and content was generated by the students themselves:

www.myspace.com/iwillride_goldline

Facebook: Gold Line

The Metro Board will meet again in June to finalize its long-range transportation plan. If it does not include the Gold Line at that point, the project will likely get delayed at least another year (it is already one year behind its initial end-of-2008 kickoff target). That means service to Azusa/Glendora won't happen until at least 2012 (original target date 2011) and the line won't reach Claremont until at least 2015.