Some members of the Michigan Student Assembly believe that when students cast their votes in today's national elections, it doesn't necessarily mean their voices will be adequately represented in Washington, D.C.
MSA Vice President Probir Mehta and three LSA representatives went to Washington, D.C., last week to lobby lawmakers for the protection and expansion of student loan programs - and left students in Ann Arbor to float the $1,200 bill, using MSA funds.
"(Lobbying) is one of our most important functions - we represent students with the regents and all the way up to the president of the United States," Mehta said.
"If you ask any student on campus what their No. 1 concern is, they will say money and how financial aid issues can block access to education," Mehta said. "We worked to make sure those concerns were heard in Washington."
Assembly members met with staff members in the offices of nine congressional leaders - seven Republicans and two Democrats.
"We didn't make an effort to meet with Democrats because there would have been a lot of smiling and laughing and saying, 'We agree with you'," said External Relations Committee Chair Erin Carey, who travelled with the group. "It is with Republicans where our lobbying can really change minds."
Mehta said the members encouraged congressional staffs to increase appropriations to student loan programs and continue expansion of the direct student loan programs already in place. The group also endorsed federal grants to students, in favor of expensive student loans.
"The reason people think they can cut education is because students don't vote and students don't make their voices heard through lobbying," Carey said. "We went to Washington to make sure the concerns of students are not overlooked."
But other members were not sure lobbying trips are a good use of MSA funds.
"There's a strong sense among students that these trips are frivolous and when we keep spending money on them it is undercutting our credibility as an assembly," said Engineering Rep. David Burden.
LSA Rep. Srinu Vourganti was also unsure MSA's lobbying efforts were worth the assembly's time and money.
"Are these lobbying efforts really effective?" Vourganti asked. "This is something we definitely need to examine closely."
Burden said the lobbying efforts were in need of serious reform to cut costs and increase efficiency.
"We go on these trips and I don't think they are worth the money we are spending on them now," Burden said.
Mehta said last week's trip was as inexpensive as possible.
"It was really bare-bones stuff - the money was spent on fixed costs we had no control over, like plane tickets," Mehta said. "We paid for our own meals and everything else - we were very efficient spenders."
In addition to the lobbying of the members' staffs, the reps also attended the National Association of Students for Higher Education's national conference. NASHE is a national organization comprised of collegiate student government representatives from across the nation.
Mehta said NASHE lobbies on behalf of more than 1 million students nationwide.
"(The University's) 36,000 students make an impact on lawmakers but (NASHE's) 1.5 million students has a much bigger impact," Mehta said.
LSA Rep. Karie Morgan, who also made the trip to Washington, was appointed NASHE secretary and will sit on the organization's executive board. The trip's fourth participant, LSA Rep. Sangeti Bhaita, will also continue to work closely with NASHE's executive committees.