Spring Break
USG travels to state capital to show concern for Rell's budget cuts
Christopher Duray
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: News
HARTFORD - USG's senate meetings are traditionally held in the Student Union Ballroom, room 331. It works well enough; there's lots of space, the floors are hardwood, and the white walls leave for a nice, open aesthetic.
Wednesday morning, the USG traded the hardwood for marble and white walls for ornate stained glass windows when they traveled to the state house in Hartford to lobby their senators and representatives about the 9.2 percent budget cut from UConn in Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposed budget, which she presented yesterday to a joint meeting of the state Senate and House of Representatives.
State legislators were busy that day, preparing for the proposal beforehand, and holding caucuses to discuss it afterward, but USG members managed to meet with several lawmakers, including local legislators State Rep. and House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) and state senator Don Williams (D-Mansfield), as well as Roberta Willis, Torrington Representative and co-chair of the higher education committee.
USG External Affairs Chairman Seamus Keating organized the event and said the purpose of the lobbying was not so much to sway lawmakers to one side or another - he perceived most lawmakers to be sympathetic to UConn's plight - but an attempt to remind legislators that ultimately, the students were he ones who would be affected most by budget cuts.
"It's important to establish a dialogue," Keating said. "You can't leave it to the administration to control the conversation because only we [the students] can represent what it is we need."
Keating said the event went well, but hoped more students would participate should the USG organize a similar lobbying action on a day less intrusive to classes, or help out by writing their legislative representatives.
Merrill, who employs USG senator Amanda Stauble, an 8th-semester political science major, as an intern, invited the group to the capital after Stauble asked her what UConn students could do to help defend their budget.
Wednesday morning, the USG traded the hardwood for marble and white walls for ornate stained glass windows when they traveled to the state house in Hartford to lobby their senators and representatives about the 9.2 percent budget cut from UConn in Gov. M. Jodi Rell's proposed budget, which she presented yesterday to a joint meeting of the state Senate and House of Representatives.
State legislators were busy that day, preparing for the proposal beforehand, and holding caucuses to discuss it afterward, but USG members managed to meet with several lawmakers, including local legislators State Rep. and House Majority Leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) and state senator Don Williams (D-Mansfield), as well as Roberta Willis, Torrington Representative and co-chair of the higher education committee.
USG External Affairs Chairman Seamus Keating organized the event and said the purpose of the lobbying was not so much to sway lawmakers to one side or another - he perceived most lawmakers to be sympathetic to UConn's plight - but an attempt to remind legislators that ultimately, the students were he ones who would be affected most by budget cuts.
"It's important to establish a dialogue," Keating said. "You can't leave it to the administration to control the conversation because only we [the students] can represent what it is we need."
Keating said the event went well, but hoped more students would participate should the USG organize a similar lobbying action on a day less intrusive to classes, or help out by writing their legislative representatives.
Merrill, who employs USG senator Amanda Stauble, an 8th-semester political science major, as an intern, invited the group to the capital after Stauble asked her what UConn students could do to help defend their budget.
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