A group of Auggies got a glimpse inside the legislative process during this year鈥檚 Day at the Capitol on March 1. Organized by the (MPCC) in support of the Minnesota State Grant program, this annual event develops student advocacy skills, provides professional networking opportunities, and brings student voices and concerns to the capitol.
The provides need-based financial aid that goes directly to students. Fifty-two percent of Augsburg undergraduates receive funding through the program, with an average award of nearly $6,000. The focus of this year鈥檚 Day at the Capitol was to ask legislators and Governor Walz to make a substantial new investment in the program by lowering the share of college costs that the grant formula expects students to cover from 50% to 36%.
Along with representatives from the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship, Augsburg students took the Green Line to the capitol and kicked off the day with a training featuring Representative Mike Howard 鈥�05. Then, they met in small groups with their hometown legislators to discuss expanding support for the state grant as well as other issues on students鈥� minds.
鈥淚t was so eye-opening for me,鈥� said Carol Hei Yue Lee 鈥�24, a social work major, vice president of Augsburg Day Student Government, and Campus Kitchen intern. 鈥淎t first I didn鈥檛 know how the process worked, since my representatives aren鈥檛 on the committee that oversees the state grant. But MPCC talked us through how legislators talk about issues with their colleagues and get them to sign on to a bill.鈥�
Lee met with Woodbury Representative Ethan Cha and Senator Nicole Mitchell. 鈥淧eople think legislators look scary, but they are very nice. Representative Cha told us his backstory and experiences as a refugee, fighting for his family and his kids鈥� rights. I was able to talk about food insecurity, which is a very serious issue and it connects with the state grant.鈥�
For Abby Petersen 鈥�24, the experience complemented their work as a campus organizer through the Minnesota Youth Collective. 鈥淚鈥檝e done organizing, but I鈥檝e never had the opportunity to spend a day at the capitol or actually meet a legislator,鈥� they said. 鈥淚t was super interesting and it went by so fast.鈥�
Both Petersen and Lee noted that the event built connections with other students and helped spur ideas about how to continue their activism on campus. 鈥淚 was impressed with the number of Augsburg students who showed up,鈥� said Petersen, who transferred to Augsburg last fall and is majoring in social work. 鈥淚t was really fun to meet other students who are also interested in doing advocacy work. Our group met with Representative Mohamud Noor, who was so supportive, and people brought up food issues and transit accessibility and asked about expanding the state grant program to grad students鈥攚e had a long conversation about that.鈥�
Lee ended the day with a sense of deeper community and expanded horizons. 鈥淩epresentative Cha told us, 鈥榊ou can be legislators too,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淓verything is possible.鈥�
Every spring, the Minnesota Private College Council sponsors Day at the Capitol. It is an opportunity for students to meet with their legislators to advocate for the Minnesota State Grant program. This program provides critical support, helping make higher education possible for one out of three Minnesota college students from low- and middle-income families. The state invested $120 million in aid in the most recent academic year, helping more than 88,000 students.