On Jan. 15, IUSA will participate in the winter conference for the Association of Big Ten Students, a coalition of each of the Big Ten universities. Each university sends a delegation to the conference to discuss issues and write legislation.
IUSA’s delegation includes Patrick Lockhart, director of state and legislative affairs; Tatiana Padilla, vice president of administration; Dan Niersbach, deputy treasurer and intern program director; and Sara Zaheer, chief of staff.
“What we do at these weekend-long conferences is learn from each other,” Padilla said. “As student leaders from Big Ten schools we have a lot in common. By discussing the real issues that our campuses face, we become a network of more efficient student governments.”
ABTS meets three times a year in August, April and January. Each meeting has a different purpose. At the winter conference, members will be focused on proposing and setting legislation.
ABTS legislation is a way for all schools to pursue a certain campaign or initiative. Once legislation is passed, each student government association carries it out in a way specific to their campus, Zaheer said.
IUSA will focus on legislation for diversity and inclusion. Before delegates arrive at Rutgers, Zaheer will work with delegates from other universities to write legislation.
“Essentially, the legislation we propose is a way for us to do a collective campaign as the Big Ten to bring awareness to an issue that otherwise might not get as much publicity or attention,” Lockhart said.
Each student government will also have the opportunity to listen and give presentations on an issue they have worked on, including sexual assault, cost of college and campus sustainability.
“This is mostly to exchange ideas, teach best practices and point out any roadblocks that come along with addressing the different items,” Lockhart said.
IUSA will give its presentation on student safety both on and off campus. Zaheer said IUSA delegates want to share what IUSA is doing to try to improve student safety on campus and include suggestions it has heard from students.
Lockhart said it is important to hear the opinions of other schools on issues they faced and how they confronted them.
“Bringing back different perspectives will help IUSA more effectively create change for the student body,” Lockhart said.
Members of ABTS keep in contact throughout the year and share how each school seeks to fix major issues such as safety, sexual violence and mental health, Zaheer said.
Since ABTS represents nearly half a million college students, they have a lot of influence over students’ daily lives, Lockhart said.
“By meeting together like this, getting on the same page, and focusing on tackling issues that we all face, we can more effectively govern than we otherwise would,” Lockhart added.
When legislation is passed concerning college education, it helps or hurts all students, not just Big Ten students, Padilla said.
“We have the power,” Padilla said. “Because we represent so many young adults, we have a duty to find common goals and fight for them full force.”
