On Wed., Feb. 9, students from A&T and the other 16 institutions in the University of North Carolina system (UNC) flooded the state capital for the UNC Association of Student Government’s annual Student Day at the Capitol.

In a series of meetings throughout the day, the student lobbyists were able to express their concerns about education and their individual campuses directly to the members of the North Carolina General Assembly.

Sixteen students strong, A&T had the largest number of participants.

The issues primarily on the agenda were funding for education and the Voter ID bill. Univerity of North Carolina Association of Student Government wanted to make sure the state representatives kept education first when reviewing the budget, so if cuts were made they would not risk the quality of education the students would receive.

The Voter ID bill is new legislation currently being discussed that would require voters to have another form of identification that stated their local address within the district of their polling location. Supporters of the bill believe it will prevent voter fraud, especially among people who are illegally within the country. Opposers argue it will discourage and inconvenience specific minority groups who already struggle to get to the polls, including college students and elderly residents.

“I’m here to [stress] minimal cuts with maximum flexibility. [That way] the institutions will be able to designate how the funds are used that best benefit their campuses,” said Rachel Whaley, a senior at UNC-Asheboro who is double majoring in Spanish and Multi-media Arts and Sciences.

For most of the meetings, the students were divided into small groups of three or four based on their hometown so they could lobby not only for issues on the UNC ASG agenda, but also for those affecting their homes as well. The students met with a variety of Congress members including Representative Alma Adams from

Guilford County, Representative Kelly Alexander Jr. from Mecklenburg County, Representative Maggie Jeffus of Guilford County and Representative Stephen LaRoque of Wayne Country.

Many of the participants felt the experience was balanced overall. They spoke with both supporters and opposers of the big items on their agenda.

Senator Phil Berger of Guilford County said he supported the Voter ID bill because “it would give people more confidence in voting.”

Representative Paul Luebke of Durham, an opponent of the Voter ID, was especially “impressed” with the students’ advocacy for education.

The conversation with Luebke was successful according to Stirling Nwafor, junior Agricultural Business major, because Luebke genuinely listened to the students’ personal stories, and gave relatable feedback. He encouraged the students to continue to voice their concerns, especially to their own Board of Trustees, and to continue raising awareness about fees and prices on campus to get more students aware and active on this issue.

The biggest meeting of the day took place with Senator Gladys Robinson, who represents District 28 in Guilford County where A&T is located. She immediately reassured the students that education was a high priority of hers and that she was against the Voter ID bill.

“We are about keeping education as affordable as possible [because it] is the economic driver,” said Robinson, “It is important to advocate for it.”

The general consciences among the student lobbyists was to advocate for the education budget cuts to be as minimal as possible; however, Ryan Marcus, freshman Economics major, said he received a clearer understanding from Senator Josh Stein why the direct result would be an increase in tuition. He said Sterns explained to him the money gained from college tuition, in part, went to fund all education in the state, included public elementary and high schools.

“[If] that [really] is the case, then just do not increase [tuition] too much. Something else must be done,” said Marcus. 

The day was long, but the students felt the work put in was well worth it. Many expressed the possibility of participating again if lobbying on behalf of A&T became a regular task of NCAT’s Student Government Association.

“I want the image of A&T to be redefined,” said Mitchell Brown, NCAT Student Government Association Parliamentarians. “This is a great institution with a bad rep, and I want it to be here for the future. The goal of advocacy day [was] to secure our future.”

• LaRia Land