Senior members of the University’s Student Government, along with leaders from other Southeastern Conference higher education institutions, touched down in Washington, D.C., on Sunday to kick off a four-day push to focus on maintaining levels of federal aid for college students.
SG President John Woodard said the main focus of the trip is to prioritize students in lawmakers’ discussions of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. He mentioned that certain lawmakers will seek to cut Pell Grant and other federal funding because of the cost of these programs to the federal government, but he said the group intends to ensure colleges remain affordable and accessible in the face of rising tuition.
Woodard said the group also backs a program that would match states’ investment into higher education with the levels of federal funding it receives. He said this would put more pressure on states to fund higher education.
“We want to make sure that whatever reform is done or whatever moves are made that students are prioritized first and that it’s in the best interest of the students,” Woodard said.
The group will meet with representatives Tuesday from the offices of congressmen Charles Boustany, Bill Cassidy and Steve Scalise as well as senators Mary Landrieu and David Vitter.
Joining Woodard in Washington are vice president Taylor Parks, speaker of the SG senate Alex Grashoff, speaker pro tempore Trey Schwartzenburg, executive director and chief of staff for internal affairs Rachel Rhodes and chief of staff for external affairs Gerard Zimmerman.