Students lobby issues
Adam Hammer
Issue date: 2/12/04 Section: News
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With rumors of tuition hikes, budget cuts and an agenda for SCSU to pull out of Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA), this year's Lobby Day took a different approach than the common full-on barrage on the capitol.
The SCSU student government took an intimate agenda to 2003-04 biennial legislative sessions Wednesday to lobby and meet with seven of 10 representatives from the area.
"We have a lot of support at the capitol from our representatives," Courtny Warns, student senator-at-large said.
Warns was accompanied by Student Senator Stacy Springer to head the SCSU student government's lobbying efforts.
"The most important thing about Lobby Day is meeting face-to-face with representatives," Warns said. "Having that personal contact means a lot more than a phone call, or letter or an e-mail."
Nine members of student government signed up to attend Lobby Day, but the number was reduced because of the weather.
Among many of the issues on the associations' lobbying agenda, the most important for SCSU was the proposal for an opt-in, opt-out system with MSUSA, Warns said.
Although it is still early in the legislative session, which began on Feb. 2, the outlook for the proposal seems promising.
"I did not have any negative response towards the MSUSA issue," Warns said.
The topic of opting out of the state university organization has been a high priority for student government. During the fall elections, 80 percent of student voters supported the proposal.
As SCSU is still an active member of MSUSA, it supported lobbying issues on behalf of the state organization, including financial aid based on income of the family instead of cost of institution, direct appropriation of financial aid to higher education sectors, opposition to cuts in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and the elimination of the one-third debt service charge on bonding projects.
Student government also believes that a serious flaw exists in the Minnesota State Grant Program.
The SCSU student government took an intimate agenda to 2003-04 biennial legislative sessions Wednesday to lobby and meet with seven of 10 representatives from the area.
"We have a lot of support at the capitol from our representatives," Courtny Warns, student senator-at-large said.
Warns was accompanied by Student Senator Stacy Springer to head the SCSU student government's lobbying efforts.
"The most important thing about Lobby Day is meeting face-to-face with representatives," Warns said. "Having that personal contact means a lot more than a phone call, or letter or an e-mail."
Nine members of student government signed up to attend Lobby Day, but the number was reduced because of the weather.
Among many of the issues on the associations' lobbying agenda, the most important for SCSU was the proposal for an opt-in, opt-out system with MSUSA, Warns said.
Although it is still early in the legislative session, which began on Feb. 2, the outlook for the proposal seems promising.
"I did not have any negative response towards the MSUSA issue," Warns said.
The topic of opting out of the state university organization has been a high priority for student government. During the fall elections, 80 percent of student voters supported the proposal.
As SCSU is still an active member of MSUSA, it supported lobbying issues on behalf of the state organization, including financial aid based on income of the family instead of cost of institution, direct appropriation of financial aid to higher education sectors, opposition to cuts in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and the elimination of the one-third debt service charge on bonding projects.
Student government also believes that a serious flaw exists in the Minnesota State Grant Program.