College students rarely have the time to think about the outside world let alone which politicians represent them in the State of Illinois. The event, Lunch with Legislators, was meant to bridge that gap and create those connections.
On Friday, September 16, Alumni Engagement, the Office of Governmental Relations, and the Center for Civic Engagement partnered with the Student Government Association (SGA) to host a lunch with Illinois General Assembly members. Students, along with members of Illinois State’s Foundation Board members and Alumni Board, gathered to network and engage with the elected officials.
During the meal, the issue of equitable funding for Illinois State University was at the forefront of the narrative. In fact, Illinois State gets the least amount of money in the state per student from the government.
“I met with President (Terri Goss) Kinzy a couple weeks ago and she outlined very clearly for me the fact that ISU does not get its fair share of funding,” Illinois’ 46th District State Senator David Koehler said. “Equitable funding is certainly something that we have to achieve in Illinois because there is no good rationale as to why you wouldn’t fund all the state universities in an equitable way.”
President Kinzy spoke during the lunch and touched on several university issues, including celebrating Illinois State’s achievements through governmental funding.
“I really do believe we want to hold our universities accountable for achieving the goals we have to make sure that Illinois has the most robust and productive higher education system in the country,” Kinzy said. “We know we’re a great investment for our students and the families that they come from and the future of our state.”
President Kinzy also mentioned that she has never missed an election since she registered to vote at 18 years old. She was proud of the efforts of the Center for Civic Engagement in previous years to make the University one of the best colleges for student voting.
“Illinois State makes me proud that we have that same principle of active engagement of our students,” Kinzy said. “Our Center for Civic Engagement’s voter registration initiative, in fact—frankly the entire office—is as popular as it is informative.”
After remarks from President Kinzy and Student Body President Patrick Walsh, students continued conversations with the legislators that were dining with them.
“My favorite part was connecting with my local leaders and getting engaged with the people who are supposed to represent me, because that’s very important,” student and SGA senator Braxton Myers said. “If we don’t hold our elected officials—the people who are elected to represent us—accountable, then I’m not really sure that we can hold a democracy that is whole and robust as the founders intended.”
Those in attendance had fun speaking with one another and learning more about being politically involved. Events like this highlight the University’s core value of civic engagement. Building community and speaking with elected officials epitomizes this engagement.
“Student-led events and dialogue are great places to make sure we show how important it is to be engaged and the role of universities helping to be sources, places of discussions and dialogue, and engagement of our state,” Kinzy said.
“America functions the best when we recognize our diversity, and we expand the rights of individuals and when we embrace the principles of democracy,” Koehler said.
