DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Christopher Dang, a political sciences junior, sifts through the proposals he wrote last year to Arizona sate legislature. Now the proposal is being considered for a bill.

For those students who don't think they have a voice in the government, Chris Dang will tell them otherwise.

Dang, a political science junior, wrote a bill last semester to fulfill an assignment for his POL 210 class on the United States and Arizona government.

That assignment, with support from Republican Sen. Slade Mead, is now being transformed into a bill to go before the education committee of the Arizona State Legislature.

For his assignment, Dang, who worked as an assistant to student regent Matt Meaker last year, examined the university's financial situation and detailed ways to fix it.

Dang's proposals include creating a tuition payment plan for students and requiring the legislature to allocate more money to reestablish auxiliary programs that have been cut due to the UA's budget crisis.

Since 2001, the UA has had to shoulder $40 million in funding cuts from the legislature.

Dang said he also hopes that his proposals will eventually allow student tuition to be reduced.

Dang's political activism comes at a time when few college students even take the time to vote.

The National Ad Council reports that voter participation of people ages 18 to 24 has dropped 18 percent in the past 25 years. Only 32 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 25 actually vote.

Fine arts senior Angel Theisen and math education sophomore Matt Mann said they have never voted in a city, state or national election.

They also have never considered writing to a state legislator.

"Nothing's ever really bothered me enough," Theisen said.

Mann echoed her sentiment, saying that he was content with most city and state policies. Mann said he has never contacted a legislator, but he said he was certain he "could probably find out how to if [he] wanted to."

Voter turnout might be low among undergraduate populations, but Dang said that students would work more fervently toward positive changes in their communities if they knew that their voices would be heard.

"There are ears out there listening," Dang said. "A lot of college students don't think so."

Mead said that students should become more active in their government because their legislators want to hear from them.

"It's a representative form of government and most legislators would be very receptive to hear from students," he said.

Dang said that, to bring about change, students must enthusiastically pursue it.

"You have to write. You have to vote. You have to be active," he said.

If a bill is created from Dang's proposals, it will most likely go before the education committee in January 2004.