UNI Northern Iowan, IA
03-01-07
Students lobby for higher education
Tim McCue
NI News Writer
A group of 35 University of Northern Iowa students recently took the political
process in to their own hands.
Led by members of the Northern Iowa Student Government, students traveled to
Des Moines on Feb. 22 for the annual Student Day at the Capitol. The event
allows students from UNI, The University of Iowa and Iowa State University the
chance to meet with lawmakers to discuss funding and other issues facing higher
education in Iowa.
“The UNI students were outstanding ambassadors for UNI and the Cedar Valley,”
said State Sen. Jeff Danielson who represents UNI. “They were well prepared
and were professional in there approach. They made me proud to be their
senator and a fellow UNI alumna.”
This year student government leaders worked particularly hard in preparation for
lobbying. Each student who went to lobby was supplied with the name of their
local legislator as well as relevant talking points for when they met.
Grant Erwin, UNI student body president, said successful lobbing efforts need to
be a collaborative effort. He encouraged students to ask their parents to get
involved in contacting legislators voicing their support for higher education. In
addition, NISG has been contacting former members and enlisting them in
lobbying efforts.
For the past six years funding for the state schools has been reduced and tuition
has gone up. In his Jan. 30 budget address Iowa Gov. Chet Culver proposed
increasing funding for higher education by an additional $25 million. This is on
top of the $40 million asked for by the Iowa Board of Regents as part of their
transformation for excellence plan.
Danielson, who serves as President Pro Tempore of the senate, said he expects
this year to be the best budget year for UNI in almost a decade
Erwin was happy to see the governor’s commitment to the regent universities but
he doesn’t plan on slowing down lobbying efforts. He said it’s crucial for students
to maintain a consistent voice on the issue of funding. Erwin wants students to
continue their effort beyond the one day trip to Des Moines.
Having students personal experience is an important part of the lobbying
process.
“We speak with politicians who believe our state universities are inefficient, our
tuition isn’t really that high, and students and families are easily able to pay for it,”
Erwin said. “These politicians need to hear directly from students to help
disprove these myths.”
Legislators agreed with Erwin’s assessment.
“Students can have a tremendous influence because their collective voices
speak to the important issues of the day,” Danielson said. “Being able to afford
college and getting a job that pays the bills once you’re finished are real life
issues that college students can remind us to focus on.”
The 35 students that attended this year was the largest group NISG has taken to
lobby in recent years. This year’s contingent of NISG senators and executives
was supplement heavily by students who were part of UNI Public Interest
Research Group, an activist group that works to address student concerns about
rising costs at the university.
While funding for higher education was at the top of students list they also took
time to talk with their elected officials about legislation such as the tobacco tax.
Erwin thinks legislators took notice of the large student contingent.
“Our strong presence there made it very transparent high tuition increases are
unacceptable,” Erwin said. “ It puts a face and a story to the money they need to
give us.”