Thirty-five University of Idaho undergraduates traveled to Boise Jan. 25 to meet with Idaho’s legislators and discuss higher education at the 2012 Legislative Breakfast.
“It was actually really successful, students met with over 80 of the legislators, most of which were brought up to the breakfast on the fourth floor of the Capitol,” said UI student lobbyist Bruno Bennett.
The Legislative Breakfast is an annual opportunity for students to communicate one-on-one with Idaho legislators about issues in higher education.
This year students focused on two issues. The first included Change in Employee Compensation (CEC) funding. Bennett said CEC funding provides raises for university faculty, something UI faculty has not received in more than four years.
He said the second focus for students was scholarship funding.
Four students arrived early in Boise to meet with Idaho’s Lt. Gov. Brad Little. Current ASUI President Samantha Perez, former ASUI President Stephen Parrott, ASUI Communications Board Chair Hannah Blankenship and ASUI Presidential Policy Adviser Joe Black took the opportunity to bring up the team’s most important issues.
“We just met with him and told him more about Legislative Breakfast, and then talked with him again about our priority issues,” Perez said. “That’s CEC funding and scholarship and financial aid. And we just got his opinion on the State of the State address.”
Perez said the trip was a great experience for students and an opportunity to learn more about the state legislative process.
“The majority of our students met with their legislators and had really positive experiences,” Perez said. “It was really cool for them to be down in the capitol and just learn more about how government works and to just meet with their legislators and have the opportunity to share their opinion and their view on higher education.”
Wednesday was dedicated entirely to the University of Idaho, Perez said.
“The governor proclaimed that it was the University of Idaho Higher Education day and he wore a Vandal hat which was really exciting because he went to Boise State,” Perez said.
UI booths and representatives from every college and campus throughout the state filled the fourth floor rotunda of the Capitol building during Wednesday’s breakfast.
“Joe Stegner, he’s the president’s special assistant for governmental relations, and he used to be a senator, he said he’s never seen the fourth floor that full,” Perez said. “I think we really accomplished our mission by meeting with so many of the legislators and putting a face to the University of Idaho.”
Bennett said he thinks the 2012 Legislative Breakfast was the most successful year so far.
“I think that we’ll only continue to improve each year,” Bennett said. “We had such a high turn-out in applications. The students that we took were really top-notch and really wanted to do well on this opportunity.”
Bennett said the most exciting part of the event was the fact that the attorney general, the governor, the secretary of state and the lieutenant governor all participated in the event in some way, either by attending the breakfast or the proclamation presentation.
“Everyone seemed very happy to see our students there showing that they care about our university and their funding,” Bennett said. “I think it definitely makes an impact on the legislators.”