Hoosiers for Higher Education visit statehouse

Roughly 550 students, faculty, alumni and friends of the University from across the eight IU campuses and IU-Purdue University Columbus will add "lobbyist" to their job descriptions and majors today. The group -- about 300 of whom are IU students -- will travel to the state legislature in Indianapolis to remind lawmakers of the importance of supporting IU in state government in the Hoosiers for Higher Education's 14th annual trip to the Statehouse.\nThe trip is particularly significant this year because legislators will be passing the state's appropriations to IU for the next two years, said HHE director Debbie Sibbitt. \nThe state's contributions to IU this year totaled nearly $555 million -- almost one-quarter of IU's operating budget. \nHHE will arrange for the trip's attendees to meet with legislators from their home districts so they can thank their lawmakers in person for their continued support of IU, said HHE Graduate Assistant Ken Hussey. These IU supporters are not expected to lobby on specific issues, but they will be asking the lawmakers to support IU's biennial budget proposal. \nBringing IU supporters to the Statehouse en masse shows legislators the importance of supporting the University, Sibbit said.\n"It shows the concerted effort and support that students have for IU and the future of IU," she said.\nAlthough there might not be specific examples of votes the trip has changed or friends it has won in the legislature, it helps generate of general feeling of goodwill between the legislators and the University, Sibbit said.\nIU Student Association President Tyson Chastain will be among the roughly 50 students from the Bloomington campus making the trek to the capital. He said he will be discussing issues like campus facility improvements and tuition with the legislators.\nSibbitt said it is still not too late for students who want go to the Statehouse with HHE. Anyone who registers from 1 to 1:30 p.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom on the second floor of the Indiana Convention Center can visit the legislature. \nAfter registration, David Shane, senior adviser to Gov. Mitch Daniels for education and employment, will give a legislative briefing. The actual Statehouse visit will occur from 2:30 to 4:15 p.m. \nA reception in the Sagamore Ballroom will follow. IU President Adam Herbert will deliver his remarks at 5:15 p.m. \n"What he will say is that he is very proud that such a large number of IU students are participating and that he is very pleased that they are involved in civic discourse and leadership," said IU Media Relations Director Larry MacIntyre. The Welsh-Bowen Distinguished Public Official award and HHE Scholarship awards also will be presented at this time.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Michael Zennie at mzennie@indiana.edu.