Trine students lobby for funds

Ten travel to State House

 

Ten Trine University students let their legislators know of their concern for state student aid by joining 250 other students from 20 Indiana independent colleges and universities for State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) Lobby Day in Indianapolis Feb. 24.

Max Begovich, Randie Bumgardner, Travis Case, Alicia Collins, Nick Creager, Matt Curry, Erik Evans, Chad Gordon, Tyson Kaase, and Chris Osborne paid personal calls to their hometown legislators, delivering three messages: thanks for their commitment to SSACI funding; that the need for their continued support of this program is great; and that increasing the number of Indiana bachelor’s degree holders is crucial to our state’s economic recovery.

Students wore bright blue scarves bearing the message “Fund Students First,” as well as nametags identifying themselves, their hometowns, and their campuses. The student gathering was coordinated by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI), a nonprofit corporation representing the state’s 31 nonprofit, accredited, undergraduate degree-granding institutions of higher education. Students marched from the Indiana History Center to the State House at noon for face-to-face interaction with their legislators.

“Our goal is not only to raise awareness to the legislature of the importance of state financial aid—to put students’ names and faces on the state funds they appropriate—but also to introduce our students to how the legislative process works, how it affects their lives and futures, and how they can play a role in shaping its direction,” said Hans Giesecke, ICI executive director. For more information about ICI, visit www.iciindiana.org.