The ASUW is implementing a new program to put the students at the UW to work.

Yesterday, at the ASUW Senate meeting, Ehsan Aleaziz — the ASUW director of operations — discussed a new program called the Political Action Network (PAN).

“The Political Action Network is a brand new program in ASUW to ensure that the University of Washington’s more than 40,000 students are heard and respected on every level of government,” Aleaziz said.

In essence, the PAN will organize students from across campus to unite and rally behind issues important to the university — namely, budget cuts, which have the potential to increase how much students pay for tuition.

The PAN will operate on the local and statewide level.

In the past, the ASUW has only had lobbyists advocate on behalf of the UW; this is the first time the ASUW will try to implement a campus-wide program to coordinate advocacy efforts.

“Legislators will vote on issues that they hear their constituents care about,” said Tim Mensing, the ASUW president.

If the PAN is effective at mobilizing and vocalizing support, Mensing said, “It will finally allow us to take advantage of the collective strength of our student body.”

In organizing the PAN, the ASUW is reaching out to already-formed groups on campus, such as Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), Greek houses, and residence hall councils.

The idea to form this type of student lobbying coalition was first bounced around last year during the ASUW election season when budget cuts loomed dauntingly on the horizon.

“Last year, only one person showed up in Olympia to speak out against higher tuition,” said Eric Shellan, assistant director of the Office of Government Relations (OGR). “That’s completely unacceptable considering the size of our university.”

As a result, the OGR this year has worked hard to make sure this does not happen again through the formation of the PAN.

“All we need is 1 percent of our student body to make or break an issue — that’s 400-500 students,” Shellan said.

The PAN will channel student support mainly through letter-writing and calling representatives who vote on issues important to students. However, Aleaziz said they want to mobilize a large group of students to travel to Olympia if crucial issues come before the state legislature.

“The potential for this program is off the charts,” Shellan said. “We’re going to start slow and see what type of response we get.”

As of now, the ASUW is looking to be ready to roll out the PAN by the end of this quarter, Aleaziz said.

Reach reporter Brian Byrnes at news@dailyuw.com.