In the spring, Lobby Day will allow interested members of the UW community to engage legislators in discussion about issues important to students statewide.

“Our primary objective is to make this a successful year with student lobbying in Olympia,” said Richard Lum, director of ASUW Government Relations. “With the economic concerns and budget deficit on the minds of legislators, it is important that funds for higher education are not forgotten or sacrificed.”

The legislative agenda, developed by the Legislative Steering Committee, will be presented to the Student Senate and is comprised of positions and legislative goals for the 2008-2009 academic year.

The Legislative Steering Committee includes the ASUW President, representatives from the ASUW Board of Directors and Senate, representatives from the Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) and students.

There will be a second reading of the agenda on Oct. 28, and all members of the UW community are encouraged to attend and ask questions, Lum said.

“We hope to voice student concerns at the state Legislature this year on a variety of issues,” Archita Taylor, assistant director of the Office of Government Relations, said in an e-mail. “The Legislative Steering Committee has drafted a comprehensive Legislative Agenda that outlines the consensus of student opinion and addresses the concerns of the students.”

While the agenda has been as long as 12 pages in the past, this year’s agenda is one page long.

“The reason for this is to keep it general, being too detailed may force lobbyists to stick to specifics,” Lum said. “[We] made the Legislative Agenda more digestible and general so the enumerable and subtle student issues are included in the document.”

In January, Lum and Dave Iseminger, GPSS vice president, will be going to Olympia to lobby full-time until March. Lobby dates on capital grounds in Olympia have not been set and will depend on student and legislator availability.

Students should try to talk to legislators and their staff members.

Iseminger said not to be discouraged if a staff member is available instead of a legislator, as legislators are very busy; staff members are a good sounding board and will pass on information to the elected official, he said.

Lobby Day allows students to go to Olympia and talk with legislators about important issues. Students will meet on campus to learn about lobbying, issues and how to talk with legislators. They will then bus to the capital, be divided into small groups and attend appointments arranged by ASUW and GPSS.

“The Office of Government Relations is always looking for students interested in helping in our advocacy efforts ... students speaking to their hometown representatives and senators help create a broader and fuller picture of critical issues affecting students,” Lum said. “This session, we hope to have at least two days where any student can get on the lobbying bus and go to Olympia for Lobby Day.”

Reach reporter Doris Wu at news@dailyuw.com.

Read tomorrow’s article to find out what issues are on the legislative agenda for ASUW and GPSS.