More than 40 students from 10 different University of Wisconsin campuses will be participating in a state-wide lobbying day today sponsored by the University of Wisconsin student government.
The students will meet with state legislators in 26 different offices to bring attention to student issues, according to Analiese Eicher, government relations director for United Council of UW Students.
Eicher said the theme of the lobby day is “#WI Need to Talk.”
“Politics is not like a spectator sport, and we can’t be the people sitting on the sidelines,” Eicher said.
She listed a few issues students will bring to the Legislature’s attention, including rises in tuition, budget cuts and student grants.
United Council secretary Beth Huang said these issues are pertinent to the success of UW students, and legislators should pay close attention.
“I think that it’s important for students to get their point across and for the legislators to hear our stories,” Huang said. “Every cut to the UW System’s budget is a cut to students’ futures.”
Huang and student government members from the Associated Students of Madison began considering the idea to have an organized day for contacting the state legislators in September 2011. They began with a statewide student call-in to the state Legislature, and students made more than a hundred calls, Huang said.
She said the biggest part of the lobby day is to ensure state legislators hear students’ stories. Huang added they wanted to implement a base and spread their issues through a grassroots movement.
Eicher said a lobby day is particularly important because it is an election year.
“They want to get re-elected, and so they need to pick and choose a stance,” Eicher said. “The big issue that is at hand is the mining bill, so we want to bring their attention to our issues.”
Students at ASM’s Legislative Affairs meeting Monday expressed concerns that the lobby day would be hindered by the amount of time they would have with legislators and by what information they will be able to exhaust in the time they are given.
In response, Eicher noted it was important to always give accurate, clear and concise information.
“Regardless of the time, get the point across,” Eicher said. “You want them to have the information and reason why you are there.”
Among the students attending lobby day is UW-Fond du Lac’s Government Liaison for Student Activities Jessica Frame.
“I have never lobbied before, but I like the idea,” Frame said. “I think every student is going to show up with a different attitude because they’re affected differently by the changes to the UW System.”
Frame also said the UW-Fond du Lac’s student government president would be in attendance at the event. Their student activities committee sponsored them.
Eicher said it is important for students to attend the press conference after lobby day because it shows students are interested in the issues.
She also noted the budget cuts affect campuses differently, making it a positive to have students from all over the state at the press conference.
“It’s good to talk to legislators because some of them are alumni of UW System schools,” Eicher said. “They know our problems and will most likely understand.”
