Students heading to Capitol to lobby for higher ed funding

A group of UIC students will head to Springfield Feb. 26 to lobby state legislators during University of Illinois Day at the Capitol.

UIC students will join alumni, Illinois Connection advocates and students from the Urbana-Champaign and Springfield campuses for the event. They will meet for a group lunch, then speak with legislators about the university’s significance and impact in the state.

“It’s important for students to be able to tell legislators about how the issues that they are dealing with affect real people and their lives,” said Andrew Sullender, president of UIC’s Student Advocacy Coalition (SAC) and senior in political science.

The SAC will organize meetings with state representatives and senators, where students will share their stories and talk about the importance of higher education funding.

“It’s vitally important that we go to Springfield to tell legislators, ‘Here’s how MAP grants and funding higher education affect me,’ and to maintain the good strides we’ve taken over the past years,” Sullender said.

“Once you’ve had this experience, you realize it’s actually not that scary to go into a room with a politician and say, ‘This is what I want.’”

SAC is a student organization that advocates for students while also giving students the tools to advocate for themselves. SAC next meets March 3, and then every other Tuesday, at 5 p.m. in 1350 University Hall.