Students visited the Minnesota Capitol Thursday for St. Thomas Day at the Capitol to lobby legislators to continue to support the State Grant Program. Students met with their respective senator and house member and wrote letters to Gov. Mark Dayton.

The State Grant Program is a need-based financial aid program that helps Minnesota students afford higher education. But Minnesota’s projected $5 billion budget shortfall for the next few years puts the program at risk for financial cuts.

Junior Quentin Abraham said the Day at the Capitol is important because it represents students from all over Minnesota.

“We’re down here to voice our opinions and tell them [legislators] to further continue their support of the State Grant Program,” Abraham said. “We are here to represent students who are having financial hardships, through dialogue with senators.”

Doug Hennes, vice president of university relations, said he can relate to why students think it’s important to talk to legislators about how important the grants are.

“I got a state grant when I was a student here in the mid 70’s,” Hennes said. “It’s been an effective way for the state to provide assistance to students who otherwise might not be able to attend college.”

Hennes said 1,340 St. Thomas students received a state grant this year, and the combined amount of the grants was almost $4 million. This is an average of about $2,985 for each student who receives a grant.

Yet independent lobbying consultant and St. Thomas alum Dennis Egan said the grant amount is down from the last academic year.

“There were 1,477 St. Thomas state grant recipients in the 2009-10 academic year, and the average state grant award was $3,508,” Egan said. “In total, more than $5.1 million in state grant awards were made to St. Thomas students.”

Egan said Minnesota’s projected budget shortfall has the potential to affect the State Grant Program.

“When legislators talk about how everyone needs to share the pain in terms of how the state’s going to balance its budget, I think we can realistically say that we are feeling the pain,” Egan said. “This year 18,000 Minnesota students did not receive a grant from the prior year. Eighty-five thousand Minnesota students are receiving less than they did last year, anywhere between $400 and $1,200 less.”

Egan said Dayton’s budget proposal creates hope for the program, but legislators have the ultimate power to decide how much funding the program gets.

“The governor in his budget recommendation last month wants to maintain steady funding for the grant program, and that’s good news,” Egan said. “The signals we’ve gotten so far from the legislature is that it wants to try to maintain funding, but [it] still hasn’t come out with [its] budget plan so we’re not exactly sure what [the legislature] is thinking.”

Student lobbying the key to maintaining funding

Hennes said a program such as St. Thomas Day at the Capitol is important because legislators love to talk to their constituents, especially students.

“Most legislators went to college or they have kids in college right now. So they know what it’s like to pay for college education,” Hennes said. “The big thing we emphasize on this day is the chance for students to learn more about how government works and how the budgets are set.”

Egan said even though other programs were lobbying for funding at the same time, it was important that students met in-person with legislators in support of the State Grant Program.

“I can’t stress enough that having a face-to-face visit with a legislator is the most impactful way that a student can help shape legislation,” Egan said. “Because of the $5 billion budget shortfall, every group is here saying they don’t want their program cut. It’s important to tell legislators that the State Grant Program should be a priority.”

Junior Adam Miller said it made him feel good that Senator Dave Thompson was in favor of the program.

“We talked with Dave Thompson, who is a representative for the Lakeville area,” Miller said. “He seemed to show a lot of support for the program.”

Freshman Brendan Gay said he enjoyed standing up for a program that benefits St. Thomas students.

“It’s important to us because we’re actually receiving the money,” Gay said. “We’re talking to representatives and not only trying to convince them to put money towards this grant, but it’s for the students at St. Thomas.”

Cynthia Johnson can be reached at john3175@stthomas.edu.