Students are organizing a call-a-thon in support of continuing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Friday on the Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall.

The organizers will ask students passing by to join them in calling their local, state and federal representatives to express support for the ACA and to urge those representatives to support the act in Congress.

“We want to get students to speak out, not just to know what happens but to do their part to protest for the best outcome,” Lucas Radtke, junior civil engineering major, said.

Radtke said he started the event because he understands the necessity of ACA for individuals and families who many not be able to afford health insurance.

“I grew up in a house with a physically disabled parent,” he said. “There was a time when we didn’t have insurance and it almost destroyed him.”

Whitman County Democrats Chair Eric Fejeran has offered Radtke help in organizing the event and said he fully supports the campaign.

“It is important that our representation knows how we feel,” Fejeran said.

A Civics 101 workshop class sponsored by various organizations, including the Whitman County Democrats and the Young Democrats of WSU, will be taking place today at 5 p.m. to teach community members how to contact their local representatives. Fejeran said the call-a-thon will also be discussed during the workshop.

“It is absolutely essential for everyone to uphold their civil duties,” Radtke said. “If not, we get people in power who do not do things in the best interest of the American people.”

Students will be on the Mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will provide phone scripts to those who need them.