Student Government members were introduced to the state Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday as the possible future of Louisiana politics.
SG Governmental Relations Committee members, who serve on a committee designed to improve relations between University students and state officials, visited the Capitol to see how the state legislature operates and to learn more for future bill proposals.
Rep. Karen Gaudet St. Germain and Sen. Jay Dardenne introduced six members of the SG committee, including committee chairman Evan Bergeron and vice-chairman Andrew Remson. Many representatives and senators greeted the committee members with warm applause.
Bergeron, who developed the idea to take a Capitol field trip, said the Governmental Relations Committee had never visited the Capitol.
“It was a great opportunity to make people aware of Student Government and what we do,” Bergeron said.
Remson said he hopes to speak with Sen. Cleo Fields about Fields’ proposed changes to the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students.
According to Fields’ proposed Senate Bill 280, only students that meet or fall below the national poverty level could obtain TOPS funding. Remson proposed a resolution Wednesday to the SG Senate to reject Fields’ bill.
Remson said visiting the Legislature is especially important to him now that the SG Senate is tackling increasingly relevant issues such as gay marriage and nuclear warfare.
“We should take advantage of the closeness [to the Legislature],” Remson said. “It gives us an opportunity to see how the Legislature works.”
In his resolution Remson wrote that Fields’ proposal would “limit availability of TOPS only to students living in extreme poverty.”
Remson said it is necessary for the SG Senate to debate higher-education issues, since they directly relate to students.
If passed, Remson’s resolution would be electronically sent to all Legislature members.
 
Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]