In response to the hits to financial aid proposed in Gov. Christine Gregoire’s 2010 supplemental budget, student activism was the prevailing theme of discussion between legislators, UW students, faculty and staff during the ASUW annual pre-session legislative reception on Wednesday.

“Statistics are nice, but the stories of everyday students are very compelling,” UW President Mark Emmert said in his address. “We need to tell the stories of what it means to not have that financial aid, in very clear and very direct fashions.”

Emmert addressed the need for students to speak out against the passing of this budget, particularly because of its proposed 50-percent cut to state need-based aid.

“We will not be able to offer the Husky-Promise program if those cuts come to pass,” he said.

State legislators, UW officials and student leaders in attendance expressed their belief that personal stories from students could help professional lobbyists accomplish their goals in communicating the importance of financial aid.

Cruz Credle, ASUW Tacoma president, shared his personal anecdote at the reception regarding his experience with the Husky Promise-program.

“I’m actually a Husky-Promise student,” he said, “This has allowed me to be the first of my siblings to go to college. I’m a role model for my little nieces and nephews.”

Stories like Credle’s are exactly what legislators like Sen. Paull Shin are looking for in order to help them fight to continue state support for programs like Husky Promise.

“As the chair of [the] higher education [committee] for four years and vice chair for eight years, every time students come talk to me, it affects me — my thinking, more than anything,” Shin said. “There are lobbyists, professional lobbyists; they come and that’s their job … but students are sincere, they’re speaking from the heart.”

In response to the need for college students to better voice their support for higher education, the ASUW started a grassroots program called Political Action Network (PAN) this November, said Tim Mensing, ASUW president.

Since its creation, more than 500 students have joined, he said.

PAN has already seen some success, particularly in their efforts to keep the U-PASS an affordable option to students, noting that rates for the U-PASS are on the rise. Early this week, PAN mobilized its members via a late-night e-mail to start a letter-writing campaign to King County Council members concerning the U-PASS. As a result, transportation services have agreed to meet with students to discuss ways to make the U-PASS a sustainable program, said Eric Shellan, assistant director of the Office of Government Relations.

PAN members plan to apply this strategy to all legislation affecting UW students, Shellan said.

“We say, ‘Hey, your legislators are going to vote on this bill in four days — call them.’” he explained.

UW administrators are discussing potential new sources of revenue — apart from simply raising tuition — to mitigate the effects of the budget cuts, if they are approved.

“I think we all recognize that tuition alone will not solve the deep funding gap in our state support,” said Paul Jenny, vice provost for the office of planning and budgeting, in an e-mail.

Some ideas for new revenue sources include private philanthropy and potential foundation-support gifts and collaboration with the state to allow the UW to more effectively manage revenue sources in an effort to increase existing revenue streams. There are also additional possibilities to explore as the UW budget model is redefined, Jenny said.

Emmert stressed the importance of collaboration at all levels of the UW in order to sustain the university’s educational quality through the budget crisis.

He said: “We have to work together, collectively … to first of all, make sure that people understand what the facts are and what the impact of these kinds of decisions will be [to] this university, both right now and for generations to come.”

Reach reporters Natalie Johnson and Joanna Nolasco at news@dailyuw.com.