PSU Day at the Capitol, an event for students, faculty, staff and alumni from Portland State to advocate for the university with Salem lawmakers, went virtual this year.
More than 50 participants participated in more than 40 remote meetings with legislators and staff members to introduce them to PSU, Oregon’s No. 1 university for social mobility and to make requests for budget and policy decisions that will support higher education.
This year advocates were talking to lawmakers about requests including:
- An investment of $900 million in Oregon’s Public University Support Fund, which will maintain and improve affordability, improve opportunities for access and improve outcomes for low-income, first-generation and BIPOC students.
- An investment of $200 million in the Oregon Opportunity Grant program that assists low-income Oregonians in paying for their higher education. The existing funding covers less than a third of the current need.
- Funding for PSU’s Gateway Center which would provide a new home for the School of Art + Design. This project will create a new student space, labs, teaching spaces, materials storage, specialty clinics and a wellness center, and exhibit spaces to promote enrollment and public partnerships.
Advocates also expressed support for two house bills:
- HB 2835, which would require community colleges and public universities to hire a benefits navigator to assist students in determining eligibility and applying for federal, state and local benefits program; and
- HB 2590, which would establish a task force on student success for underrepresented students in higher education.
PSU Advocates, a network of alumni, have always been active in PSU Day at the Capitol, also known as Lobby Day, and have a strong record of showing up when PSU needed them most.
But the most effective lobbyists in Salem are often current students.
To help prepare participants, Becky Sanchez, three-time PSU alumna and executive director of undergraduate programs in the School of Business, recorded an interview with PSU Advocate Al Fitzpatrick about what it's like to participate in PSU’s annual day of lobbying in Salem.
Sanchez said that having students involved in the outreach to lawmakers is especially meaningful.
“They are particularly interested in the people our programs are making a difference for,” Sanchez said. “The student voice, I would say, probably carries twice as much weight as the staff and faculty voice.”
Taylor Begg, a junior studying graphic design, said PSU Day at the Capitol was a well-organized event that provided the opportunities for meaningful conversations.
“It was a great opportunity for me to not only represent the student voice in important conversations about food and housing insecurity, mental health, childcare costs, and access to resources, but to also highlight the drive, dedication and talent students at PSU continue to display despite difficult circumstances,” Begg said. “I was honored to represent the student voice because I feel it should be the loudest in the room when discussing college.”