Students and faculty joined together on Oct. 22 to discuss the positive effects of passing Prop. 47 in the Nov. 4 election.

María Noel Fernández, director of organizing and civic engagement for Working Partnerships USA, was the host of the event at De Anza College.

Myah Rodriguez, 20, political science major and an intern with the Institute of Community and Civic Engagement at De Anza, helped educate students about the positive effects of Proposition 47.

They summed up the positive effects in three R’s: reclassify, retroactive and reallocate.

The proposition would reclassify petty crimes people are currently in jail for as misdemeanors. This would save millions of dollars reducing the number of felons in jail for petty crime.

The proposition would be retroactive, allowing anyone currently in jail for only petty crimes to be retried and set free.

Lastly, the proposition would reallocate almost $70,000 spent on each inmate annually to other areas of importance. These other areas would be education, drug rehab, mental health and trauma recovery services.

Rodriguez led an open discussion of the proposition.

The purpose of the discussion was to make it clear to attendees what Proposition 47 will do for California.

Fernández said her job is to advocate for policies that will help everyone in Silicon Valley and not just a small minority of people.

She believes this proposition will make that happen.

“Every single year I get the pleasure of talking about how important these elections are,” Fernández said. “This campaign is different because this proposition could revolutionize how we treat people in California.”

Many of the attendees were unsure why Proposition 47 was on the ballot before the event started, but by the end many were interested in becoming civically engaged with the issue.

Many students raised their hands and expressed interest in volunteering for the “Yes on Proposition 47” campaign.