Day at the Capitol crucial but tiring

The Student Government Association kids are a tough bunch. I did not fully understand their vigorous nature until last Wednesday, when I attended UCF's Day at the Capitol. I came home appreciative and exhausted by their hard work.

More important than their relentless energy, though, was their presence among politicians from the Florida House of Representatives and the Senate. SGA members did such a good job planning the annual Day at the Capitol that politicians came to the reception that would end the long day despite having meetings immediately before, during and after the buffet-style dinner.

Although not every elected official was a UCF alumni, each spoke about how important our school is and how grateful they were to see so many students.

Usually lobbying events planned by public universities attract about 20-30 students. SGA was able to bring about 85 students to Tallahassee.

The number of students present helps Florida politicians decide who will receive money throughout the year. With so many schools and so many other issues to research, our officials need your help in reminding them why your school is important enough to support financially.

Not being as knowledgeable as the SGA senators on how the Florida Legislature works, I asked a basic question at the beginning of the day, which was: "How do the budget cuts work, and are they the same for each public university?"

Each university has a similar budget cut, but after that there is a small amount of money that can be saved or cut based on the opinions of the politicians voting. They decide, based on the programs offered and their success, which schools need more money.

Our job as students that day was to go to as many politicians as possible and remind them why UCF is so important to Florida's economy.

Specific examples, given by the officials who spoke at the reception that night, were our medical school and simulation program.

With 11 different public universities, not to mention issues not related to colleges, Florida officials need our help reminding them why UCF is significant. By being there, we were putting faces to the requests of all UCF students to stop cutting our budget.

Although UCF lost five programs last year, its funding was cut the least in comparison to other schools thanks to the relationships that the current SGA established with Florida officials.

It is not just SGA's responsibility to represent UCF, though. Even though it was impressive to bring 85 students to Tallahassee, it was not enough for a school with a population of 53,000.

The politicians who spoke to us between their meetings and Senate sessions urged us to stay in contact with them and remind them why UCF is a great public university.

You already missed the free meals and tour of the old Capitol, but I encourage you to visit, write, call or e-mail your officials.

Please remind them why UCF, the largest in the state, is worth the millions of dollars that could be cut.