Young students in New Mexico made history when they convinced lawmakers that the smell of roasting chilis should be the state's official aroma. They researched, wrote letters, testified in hearings and celebrated when the Governor signed the bill at their school. It's the only state with a designated aroma, and it was the first time students were the force behind a new law, with the help of Senator William Soules, a former teacher and administrator in their Las Cruces school district.
I’m Kelley Griffin, and this is Across the Aisle, the podcast on bipartisanship by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
What could have been a routine school assembly for New Mexico 5th graders at Monte Vista in Las Cruces turned into a history-making project that resulted in a new law. Now, their state is the first to have an official aroma: the smell of green chilis roasting. It was the first time students led the way to pass a law in the state.
They didn’t just work across the aisle—they worked across generations. Senator William Soules, who sponsored the bill, is retired from a long career as a school teacher and administrator in their same Las Cruces school district.
It started when he visited the fifth grade classes to talk about government.
Soules: So as a teacher I was trying to engage the students and find ways of doing that. And so I started asking them kind of a rapid fire quizzing, anybody know what the state bird of New Mexico is? And kid raise his hand, it's the road runner and someone else knew the state mammals, the black bear. And so I started asking the harder ones, like the state insect. And one of the kids did know it's the tarantula hawk wasp. And I said, anyone know we have a state question, which in New Mexico is red or green. Do you want your chili, red or green? And if you want both, you're supposed to say Christmas. And about. Then as I recall, one of the students said something like, oh, I love the smell of chili roasting.”
And boom—a roomful of 5th graders agreed it was a defining aroma in their state. Ask 5th grader Samuel Williams:
Samuel Williams: Yeah, it's, it's almost like you go under a spell whenever you smell it. Just slowly walking toward the, the grill and just Ohhhh.
It’s THE scent of fall, when roasters are turning steel mesh barrels over open flames, set up in parking lots and other public spaces. You can’t miss the smell.
Soules: and I said, do you guys wanna help me make history? Is let's see if we can pass the official aroma of New Mexico. The smell of chili roasting in the fall.
The chili is already highlighted in the state question as we heard - and it seems New Mexico is the only state with an official question. And chilis are also the state vegetable—never mind that it’s actually a fruit, we won’t quibble.
So it might seem like anointing it as the official aroma would be a slam dunk. But the students were going to have to do the work.
Soules: I told ‘em if we're going to do this, This is a real bill and you guys are gonna have to learn how to lobby and how to contact legislators and how to do public speaking and write letters and learn all about Chile. And they and the teachers were up for the task.
So they did their research to learn all they could about chilis. They checked with the state Agriculture department to learn chilis generated more than $46 million dollars for the state in 2022, up one million from the year before. They plastered the walls in their classrooms with drawings to explain things like the scoville heat index and xxx. And they found out scientists have not even been able to explain what makes them smell the way they do. They wrote letters to legislators, and prepared comments for a hearing which they joined by Zoom.
Soules: The real experts for this are the students so if you would please introduce this bill for us
Student: Madam Chairman and my name is A’Shaya Potter and I am a fifth grade student at Monte Vista’s Elementary School. My classmates and I are here to ask for your support and vote to make chiles the official aroma of New Mexico. Is there anyone in the room who does not know what roasting chiles smell like ?
That’s A’Shaya Potter who gave an opening statement as the fifth graders sat quietly in the classroom behind her.
Members of the committee seemed to want the students to have the full experience of defending their proposal. Committee member Daniel Ivey Soto asked whether they had considered other aromas.
Ivey Soto: I guess my question for the students is, New Mexico is a big state, and while I completely understand the, the, the aroma of green chile roasting in the fall as being, uh, uh, an official roam of New Mexico, I guess I'm wondering if, if perhaps we should include, uh, the smell of money in Southeast New Mexico created by oil & gas. Or if we should include the, the smell of some of the dairies that we have in New Mexico or other industries that can be rather aromatic
Soules: I guess any of our students like to respond to that comment about whether the smell of oil and gas, uh, should be included in the, the aroma bill or the smell of dairies. What would you all think?
Ben would like to address that for you,
Ben, please.
Ben: green chile should be the state aroma because no matter where you're going in New Mexico, you're going to be smelling green chili.
Ben went on to note that there ARE parts of the state where you won’t smell cows, like Albuquerque.
Soules: Thank you. And I, I might indicate lots of people might consider the smell of cows more of an odor or a stench instead of an aroma.
Ivey Soto: Certainly. No, and I, and I appreciate, uh, the young man's answer to the question. It really is a statewide aroma. And so thank you. He convinced me on this.
It passed out of committee on a unanimous vote. It didn’t hurt that there was no fiscal impact attached to the bill. And the state legislative analyst Amanda Dick-Peddie broke with the usual protocol and had some fun with her report, throwing a little shade on Colorado, the neighbor to the north with it’s own chili history. She wrote:
“New Mexico has consistently lower visitation rates than neighboring Colorado. The new state aroma could help draw visitors away from Colorado, which, for some reason, thinks it has green chile comparable to that of New Mexico.”
Of course it wasn’t over yet after the committee vote and the students continued to lobby for their bill as it proceeded through the senate and the house.
As word got out, the idea gained national and international attention. Soules was interviewed by The Washington Post, NPR, CNN, USA Today. The Guardian in the UK headlined the story “Scenta Fe. . . “
When the bill came up for debate on the Senate floor, three students, teacher Kristina Campbell and some parents made the four hour drive to Santa Fe to advise Sen. Soules. The students sat next to him on the floor of the Senate, waiting quietly and patiently through about 3 hours of other other business before the bill came up.
Samuel Williams was there that day and he says it wasn’t what he expected.
One thing that was kind of unusual is how casual they wer, I was expecting it to become like in court, where the judge would say all rises for the court, but it was, it was very casual and you know, senators could leave for a sec and go get something or, you know, and also how everything kind of clicked into place with little laws about like with certain types of grain we should lower the taxing on that or just small things. And it just kinda all clicks into place on making a better state society.
In the end, the bill passed 31-4. One of the senators who voted no said it just wasn’t a good use of time.
Soules says just the consideration of the bill has already paid off in the kind of attention for New Mexico the state couldn’t buy.
And the students and teachers at Monte Vista Elementary school in Las Cruces say it was very valuable to them. Campbell, the teacher, says it was a great refresher for her on the ins and out of state government. The students learned so much and grew to care about the work of the state legislature. They have a sense that they can be part of making a difference in their community and in the state. And they think it is a good idea that will help the state economically and serve as a source of pride.
Jase Snoddy - It makes me feel amazing because it was very helpful for the state.
Brinlee Atkinson: when the bill finally passed we knew we had accomplished something.
That’s 5th grader Jase Snoddy followed by Brinley Atkinson. And Brinley, for one, could see herself working in the statehouse – some day.
Brinley: When I grow up, I would like to be an astrophysicist. And maybe once I'm done with that, I could become like a senator or someone who works in the community.
All that was left was the signing, and of course it had to happen in the school .
(sound of students cheering the Gov.)
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham showed up with Sen. Soules to greet hundreds of cheering students. The students call themselves the “wolf pack” and their mascot, a blue and gray wolf, helped pump up the crowd.
Senator Soules: They were lining the halls cheering, like they'd seen, you know, the biggest rockstar in the country, high fiving her as she walked by. And I commented to some of her staff, it's like, oh, because she does other events in schools, it's like this. Every time she goes to school, they're like, oh no, this is the first time it's ever been this big a deal.
The governor praised the students for all their hard work to make New Mexico the first state with a designated aroma.
Grisham: And that was your idea, and no one else in the country has had this idea and it makes me incredibly proud to be here to thank the students and the staff, all of the educators and the leadership. Senate bill 188 is hereby law. – clapping and cheering
The state aroma may be historic in another way - it’s probably the first bill signing celebrated with a wolf howl.
“The wolfpack how, ready?” Sound of the howl.
I’m Kelley Griffin. Thanks for listening to Across the Aisle, NCSL’s podcast on bipartisanship. I want to thank Micheal Rodriquez with the Las Cruces School District Communications Team, who supplied the video of the Governor signing the bill. You can see it at our website, ncsl.org. As always, we’d like to hear your stories of bipartisanship – email a quick note to acrosstheaisle@ncsl.org