My Weekend with the Florida Student Association

This past weekend I had the opportunity to join several other State University System (SUS) Student Body Presidents at the most recent Florida Student Association (FSA) meeting in Jacksonville. 

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss several critical student issues and try to determine the best possible solutions for all Florida students. Being apart of FSA is significant because its Chairperson actually gets to serve on the Florida Board of Governors, allowing our interests to be directly represented.  

Currently I serve as the External Vice Chair which oversees the lobbying efforts of FSA and ensures all students’ voices are being heard in Tallahassee.

Items on our agenda included the feasibility of a four-year tuition freeze, sorting out the credit surcharge fees and CITF bonding. Additionally we discussed our D.C. Fly In and Rally in Tally, both events focused on lobbying our legislators on student issues.

I enjoy serving on FSA because it gives me a perfect forum to discuss the issues that UF students are having with other campus leaders who have dealt with similar things.

Members of the Florida Student Association

UF Utilizes D.C. Lobbyists

Recently topics in the U.S. Congress have had their roots in higher education. As the Student Body President for the state’s flagship university I believe that one of our duties as a Student Government is to represent our students in Washington, D.C. during this critical time.

In 1992, SG established External Affairs, an agency charged lobbying on behalf of UF students. Since 2012, the External Affairs agency has been aided in lobbying efforts through the help of the professional lobbying firm, Cardenas Partners.

Cardenas helps us reach out to officials allowing us opportunities to defend against loan rate hikes, protect Pell Grants, provide education benefits to our large student veteran community and fight for STEM visas.

This week the Huffington Post even published an article titled, “University of Florida Students’ Lobbying Firm Helps Put Issues In Front Of Congress.” The article describes how and why professional lobbyists are important to us.

Additionally, if you are interested in helping impact the State University System (SUS), there are many jobs in D.C. open for you to consider. One in particular is as a Fellow for the SUS. Responsibilities range from attending hearings and bill markups to arranging and organizing meetings in Congressional offices.

Remember just because Gainesville is a long way away from Washington does not mean that our efforts and opinions do not matter!