Dressed in purple and white UW Lobby Day T-shirts, students left the bus and walked straight to an empty conference room in the state's capitol. Wires dangled from the walls and the fluorescent lights flickered, but nobody came to meet the students.

They were stood up.

Instead of meeting with King County Sen. Cheryl Pflug as expected, students attending the UW's annual event instead met with her aide, who listened to student concerns including accessible and affordable childcare for student-parents, unaffordable tuition increases and exempting sales tax on textbooks, to name a few.

More than 120 UW students participated in Lobby Day, splitting off into small groups for meetings with legislators. Most said they had a good experience, but absentee lawmakers seemed to be a consistent theme.

"Well, do I feel slighted?" said senior Andrew Everett. "Yes. But am I up in arms? We're students."

While taking shelter from the rain in a tent pitched next to the capitol building, a group of students argued over the importance of their meetings with legislators.

"Honestly, when given the choice between making good policy and talking to me, go ahead, do your thing," junior Alex Bond said.

But Bond was interrupted before he finished his thought.

"First of all, that guy was off doing media stuff instead of keeping his appointment," said Schuyler Dunphy about an unnamed legislator.

Bond noted lawmakers have better things to do than meet with students.

"Well, he was ... doing a TV interview," Bond said. "He's not gonna be like, 'Oh sorry, I'm gonna walk right out of this TV interview so I can talk to a bunch of kids.'"

Young voters are often marginalized by politicians because they don't participate in elections.

Statistics show nationwide, less than half of the 18-to-24-year-old population voted in the 2004 election. While this number is more than double the amount that participated in the 2000 election, it is dwarfed by participation rates among older age groups.

"The lowest voter turnout, if you do a map of voter turnout and voter registration in the 43rd [district], is in the U-District," said Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle.

One of Lobby Day's main enthusiasts in the Legislature, Rep. Dave Upthegrove, said student participation in the legislative process is an important step in convincing lawmakers of young voters' sway as a constituency group.

A senate committee hearing on funding for student childcare was the centerpiece of the day's lobbying efforts.

Opio Dupree, a UW doctoral candidate, said after a monthly childcare bill of $1,000, paying rent and buying food, he and his wife have $250 left over for cost-of-living expenses.

"When you're trying to figure out how to pay rent or feed your family, it is difficult to prepare for exams," he said. "No one should have to make the choice to better themselves through education or feed their family."

Later in the day, Washington Secretary of State Sam Reid and Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, addressed students at a rally on the steps of the capitol building.

"Education spending is going down, the environment is going south and other countries are beating us economically. You should be ticked," Dunshee said.

After his address, Reid said Lobby Day is essential to putting a face on an underrepresented age group. Personalizing the legislative process can only help in creating more informed and active citizens, he said.

"Lawmakers meet with lobbyists and other special interest groups all the time," he said. "Students need to get their voice in there too."

Reach reporter Brian Slodysko at news@thedaily.washington.edu.