To see a video from the march, click here. 
University students crammed the Louisiana State Capitol’s gallery, clustered around senators and anxiously waited for time to speak with their representatives during “Fund our Future” on Monday. More than 60 University students were at the Capitol throughout the day and attended the first day of the Louisiana State Legislature’s spring session.SG bused students to the Capitol between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., but many students stayed later to hear Gov. Bobby Jindal’s speech.”It was a huge success. We started engaging students in conversations with representatives,” said SG President Stuart Watkins. “We didn’t come to protest. We came with a proposal that outlined solutions instead of emotional rhetoric.”Students filled out requests to speak to their representatives as they entered the Capitol. They spoke with more senators than representatives because the House of Representatives was electing a new speaker pro tempore.”We are here today because we want to make sure LSU guarantees a quality education and that teachers are not cut and the legislature takes us into account while making higher cuts,” said Garrett Collins, education sophomore and SG senate candidate.Sen. Dan Claitor, R-East Baton Rouge Parish, spoke to several University students about their concerns to allow all parts of the state budget to be cut.”It’s crazy we protect everything except higher education and health care,” Claitor said.Sen. Jack Donahue, R-St. Tammany Parish, said he thinks it’s important for students to speak to legislators.”I’m always a supporter of LSU,” Donahue said. “I’m a tremendous supporter of higher education.”Watkins said the legislators were surprised students took the time to go to the Capitol.”They kept saying, ‘We’re proud of you for coming,'” Watkins said.Besides talking to as many legislators as possible, students provided copies of SG Chief Economic Adviser Greg Upton’s budget proposal to each representative.Many of Jindal’s points were consistent with SG’s budget proposal, Upton said after the governor’s 2 p.m. speech. Those points included removing statutes making every part of the budget available for cuts, supporting the LA GRAD Act and allowing universities “flexibility” in return for high graduation rates.”It is important we make needed changes for higher education,” Jindal said. “We should give universities more flexibility, but in turn they have to do better performance.”Jindal said people wouldn’t stand for the University’s athletics being as poor as its graduation rates, which he said are the second lowest in the South. “We need to demand the same excellence in the classroom that we expect on the athletic field,” Jindal said.Upton said he also heard positive words from several of the legislators, but was disappointed many said nothing about removing statutes from the Louisiana State Constitution.”I think what was important is we would go as a group of students to a legislator,” Upton said. “We were saying this is a proposal of all the students.”Watkins said he approves Jindal’s focus on higher education but said there is still room for improvement.SG Vice President Martina Scheuermann said there is a real need for students to respond to the legislature’s decisions.”A lot of legislators were saying they hadn’t heard from their constituents,” Scheuermann said. “I think it’s part of the civic engagement process, and it’s more than just about the students that are on campus now.”Students from all degrees and years joined SG downtown, including Kirsti Ortego, mass communication freshman.”I’m here as an LSU student, and I know I’m only a freshman, but I know it’s going to affect us when we graduate,” Ortego said. “If our school goes down, so does the credibility of our degree.”College of Business Senator Anne-Marie Fontenot spent most of the day downtown and spoke to Sen. Eric LaFleur, D-Allen Parish, the senator representing her hometown of Ville Platte.”He has always supported higher education and will continue to do so throughout this session,” Fontenot said.Students showing they care about legislative decisions shows they are concerned about Louisiana’s future, Fontenot said. —-Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected].