Undergrads visit D.C. to lobby Congress

While many see politics as an abstract process where their elected representatives cannot directly hear their constituency's concerns and opinions, three IU students recently contradicted this when they were given the opportunity to visit Washington to lobby congress to support funding for the National Science Foundation, which supports several IU programs in math and sciences. \n"We were there to remind them of the importance and how science and math really enable us to get high tech jobs and do important research," said senior Ben Beranek who was one of the student lobbyists on the trip. "We are hoping to continue courses' existence (that use NSF funding) and lobby for professor and graduate research allotments." \nHe added the NSF is the largest federal grant program IU receives next to National Institute of Health grants, and they wanted to make sure Congress in the future properly proportioned money to support education throughout the country by giving extra support to the NSF. \nSeniors Edith Cespedes and Emily Crouch joined Beranek on the trip. The three are students in the Liberal Arts and Management Program at IU and in the class, "Analytical Decision Making," taught by math professor Daniel Maki, who also accompanied the students to Washington. \nCrouch said the curriculum of the program is partially funded by NSF grants and the students were there to show real life evidence of the positive effects such funding could create. \n"This has been one of the best classes I have taken," she said. "You get to work with real clients and get to do things that are actually worth something." \nCrouch said through the class they dealt with actual companies and nonprofit organizations to assist with statistical data and find correlations between different factors, which could positively impact the community. \nWhile in Washington the students met with the top aides for Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Indiana Representatives Mike Sodrel, Julia Carson, Mike Pence and Steve Buyer. \n"Our mission was to show Congress the value of funding for the National Science Foundation, but it was also a great chance to talk about IU and LAMP," Maki said in a statement. "The students were wonderful. I would guess we walked about five miles that day, in shoes not intended for a five-mile hike." \nBeranek said he was very satisfied with the amount of access the members of Congress gave them. \n"We talked to the aides responsible for science and they were very familiar with the foundation and our grants," he said. "They were actually most interested in hearing our stories and how abstract grants played out in the lives of IU students." \nThe students agreed they felt their words will really help secure more funding and hopefully influence Congress to expand its support. \n"I think it did really make a difference," Beranek said. "I think it was really meaningful for Congress to have faces to put to a bill. What the congressmen and aides really grasped was us putting an Indiana spin on something so abstract"