In two weeks, UW students will begin to register for spring quarter, but before they complete the online process, they will be asked if they want to donate $3 to student groups on campus.

This year, however, that list of groups could change.

For this reason, the UW chapters of both the Washington Student Lobby (WSL) and WashPIRG have been petitioning to become an option for online donation during student registrations on MyUW.

While the petition to request these online donations is open to any Registered Student Organization (RSO) on campus, only two organizations are allowed to be in the system at any time. WashPIRG, a state-wide network of advocacy groups, and WSL, an association that serves the interests of students in Washington’s post-secondary education programs, must turn in their completed petitions by March 1 for a chance to fill these slots.

According to the Student Organization handbook, the petition process starts in the fall, and each organization must collect signatures from at least 15 percent of enrolled students, based on the autumn quarter enrollment of the year. This year, a minimum of 5,900 signatures must be collected by both organizations.

Once the signatures are collected and verified, the petition must then be approved in the spring ASUW election. The petition itself is for the purpose of being able to access the spring ballot.

Meg Gardner, campus organizer for WashPIRG, explained that the organization plans to obtain more signatures than the required minimum.

“We’re actually shooting to get 6,200 [signatures] just in case of duplicates or other similar problems,” she said.

Bryce McKibben, a former WSL president who now manages the petition drive, explained their main method of collecting student signatures.

“We have been relying on the class presentation strategy,” he said. “In the beginning of class we introduce the petition and pass it around.”

So far, WSL has reached nine classes and collected 1,500 signatures.

Both organizations felt students on campus were, for the most part, in support of signing the petitions. Gardner said those who understand what the petition is asking for aren’t hesitant in signing.

“There are more people who are receptive than not,” she said. “I think the people who don’t stop [to sign] assume that we’re like the other petitions on campus like the ACLU, who ask for money, or they’re just in a rush to go to class.”

McKibben explained that many students on campus seemed aware of the WSL’s relevance to the general student body. Thus, many have been willing to sign.

“Most people realize what a dire situation we face in response to the state budget cuts and the economy,” he said. “They know there is a strong need to fight back to the budget cuts.”

If approved, donation requests for WashPIRG and WSL will appear quarterly for four years on MyUW. Students will have the option to donate $3 to each organization when they register online, along with the chance to read about each organization’s purpose.

The donated money will be used differently according to each organization. The state level of WashPIRG will decide how the money is spent, Gardner explained.

“They’ll most likely use the money toward a paid organizer on campus,” she said. “And the organizer helps the students train in activism skills and gets more in-depth campaigns.”

For WSL, the money will flow mainly to the UW chapter, with the statewide organization taking a smaller portion.

“It will be used to facilitate action for organizing students on campus,” he said.

This includes lobby days, bringing legislators to campus and advocating for more funding for the university, McKibben said.

For the organizations to remain in the student registration and accounts system for four years, each must attain a three-year annual average of 10 percent financial support by students. If this requirement is not met, each organization must re-do the petition process.

“The reason for this is to … gauge the student support for that option,” explained Luke O’Bannan, director of operations for ASUW. “This regular check on student opinion … keeps organizations from becoming irrelevant and unnecessarily present.”

Reach contributing writer Jenica Rhee at news@dailyuw.com.