Alumni and students visit state delegates and senators in Richmond on Mason Lobbies day, Jan. 25, 2017. Photo by Evan Cantwell.
Every year, Mason students have the opportunity to speak directly with members of the Virginia legislature during the General Assembly to talk about policies that directly impact them and the university. Known as Mason Lobbies, the day in Richmond draws both in-state and out-of-state students who hope to impact change at Mason and in Virginia higher education.
On Jan. 25, students met with a number of state senators and delegates throughout the day and engaged in roundtable discussions about the issues that most impact them, such as student debt and tuition, the university budget and other proposed legislation that concerns higher education.
Sabena Moretz, associate director of state government relations, says that Mason Lobbies gives students a chance to see the lawmaking process up close and meet the people that are the force behind these legislative measures.
“Keeping Mason visible here in the state capital, by bringing this large delegation dressed in green and gold, helps us remind legislators how crucial their support for the university is, and how essential George Mason University is in the lives of so many of their constituents,” Moretz said.
Sunita Ganesh, a government and international politics major and executive secretary of government and community relations, said many students focused on advocating for higher faculty salaries. She believes that Mason’s proximity to private universities in Washington, D.C., that offer higher salaries could result in the loss of some of the university’s best professors.
“We sometimes tend to forget that our professors are a huge portion of our academic experience…. They pretty much are our academic experience so it was nice to see support for them,” Ganesh said.
Benjamin Olsen, a government and international politics major and chairman of student government’s government and community relations committee, said that he believes that Mason Lobbies is an underused tool for students to directly speak with legislators, especially those who really empathize with them on issues like student debt.
“I think it was very beneficial. It’s an opportunity that not as many people take advantage of, being able to go to their state representatives and lobby on behalf of the university,” Olsen said.
Looking forward, Ganesh says student government will be keeping in touch with legislators about these issues throughout the rest of this year’s assembly and working on more aggressive strategies to see their advocacy issues resolved.
“I’m hoping we can engage the student body in a way that makes next year’s participation exceed this year’s and get more on the ground lobbying work done,” Ganesh said.
To learn more about student experiences at Mason Lobbies this year, check out the “On the Road to Richmond” video.