ASUSU VIEW: Wake up, stand up, and be counted
While we took a quick break on Monday to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Utah legislative session began. Many at this point might consider such a topic boring with no direct effect on them. I would argue that this topic is probably one of the most important things that directly impacts every student in the state of Utah.
Every year the state Legislature is presented with a figure representing the statewide budget, and they are charged with dividing it up between every group within the state. Student issues usually end up taking a back seat to other, more politically favorable, issues. Students make up a large voting bloc in the state, but we haven’t ever turned out in great numbers, and our issues get pushed aside. Students have been called the “sleeping giant” because of the influence we could possibly have. Well, it’s time to wake up.
This year I’ve had the great opportunity of working with the political science department to coordinate a lobbying internship. Last semester students were trained by professional lobbyists and current members of the state Legislature, and this semester they get to put to use what they’ve learned.
Currently there are bills being proposed that deal with higher education enhancements, college and university tuition tax credits and nonresident tuition. There is also a plan to allocate money for the design of our Agriculture/Classroom Replacement Building. I will closely follow these and other bills, and when they get placed on the legislative calendar we will head to Salt Lake and get to work lobbying for those bills that best address our issues. We have a lot of great plans and ideas, but we need your help.
You’re probably reading this and thinking there’s not much you can do about it. I’m here to tell you there is.
There will be an information and training meeting tonight at 7 p.m. on the third floor of the TSC. Here we will discuss very specific and immediate things that you can do to help. Most importantly, the more students that travel to Salt Lake, stand with us on Capitol Hill and present our issues to the Legislature, the more effective our message will be.
As citizens in a democracy, it is our responsibility to let our representatives know what is important to us and how we want them to vote. This is our time to stand and be counted. I’ll see you on Capitol Hill.
Troy Smith is ASUSU Executive Vice President. Questions or comments can be sent to asusuexec@cc.usu.edu.