By Melissa Prentice
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The state legislature can expect to hear a lot about students' interests this term, according to a student lobby organization.
The Arizona Students' Association, which is comprised of representatives from the three state universities, approved its "most aggressive legislative agenda ever" Thursday at its monthly meeting in Flagstaff.
Included in the association's goals are funding for the ASPIRE bill, reforming voter registration and adopting a state-based work-study program, said Ben Driggs, University of Arizona ASA delegate. ASA is also researching a pre-paid tuition program that would allow parents to begin making monthly payments toward their children's educations, he said.
ASPIRE, which was passed by the legislature in March, would guarantee 200 state third-grade students tuition to state universities if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average and do not get into trouble with the law. However, no funding was approved for the bill and ASA now plans to lobby for $330,000 to fund the program.
"ASPIRE only passed because of diligent student lobbying, so we need to keep working hard to ensure it gets funding," Driggs said.
Driggs said this is the first financial aid program that has passed the legislature in four years. He said ASA is optimistic about getting funding since Mark Killian, the speaker of the house, has expressed interest in sponsoring the funding bill.
ASA also adopted a platform to lobby for voter registration reform. As part of a national Register Once campaign, ASA hopes to convince legislators to allow students to register to vote through class registration and financial aid paper work, said Petri Darby, ASA Task Force director at the UA.
The student lobbyists will also request that the legislature provide polling places on campuses with more than 200 students. Any student who is registered in Pima County, regardless of which precinct, could then vote on campus, Darby said.
"Students are often left out of the political process by the legislature and this is our chance to make an impact," he said. "If we increase student voters (the legislature) will have to listen to student concerns, which they haven't been doing."
Another ASA goal is to convince Arizona legislators to join 26 other states in offering a state work-study program. Under the plan, students would find jobs in their major area and their salaries would be paid jointly by their employers and the state, Driggs said.
Driggs said he thinks the work-study plan is the most ambitious of their proposals.
"Work-study is a new idea and it requires money," he said. "Anything that requires money is hard to get accepted. But we are dedicated to the concept."