If you drive 60 miles south of Seattle University, you will find a bustling town full of people who decide your future: Olympia, the state capitol, is where our state legislators congregate.
January 21, I spent all day talking to legislators with representatives from Seattle U and the Independent Colleges of Washington. We went to advocate for low-income students who were affected by legislation passed last year, SB 5785, that reduced state funding for private university scholarships, in the face of a multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall.
I met two types of legislators: those who were understanding and those who simply did not care. They spent our meeting blaming the budget deficit and saying that we were not targeted, citing cuts to public universities as well. There was one legislator who legitimately just stared at me and smiled as I told them how I relied on those grants to go to school, so without them, students like me wouldn’t be able to get our degrees at schools like Seattle U.
I still do not know why private, non-profit institutions were selected for the cuts. I personally believe it is because of a disconnect between legislators and their constituents. Do they think we have shrimp cocktail parties in the Student Center here? That is not the reality on our campus. For comparison, 47% of Seattle University students experienced food insecurity compared to 25% at the University of Washington, a local public university.
If we use critical thinking skills, does being low-income change based on where you go to school? No. If a student transferred from UW to Seattle U, that does not mean they suddenly have more money. Yet the legislature would still cut their state-funded scholarship, as they would now attend a private, non-profit school. It just does not make sense.
If more care, time, and attention were put into the legislation that was passed last year, they would have realized they are creating more issues by disenfranchising low-income students from their education. By targeting this small community of private college students, they imposed heavy cuts to help offset their deficit, whereas if they spread cuts across public and private institutions, and did not only target private non-profit institutions, the cuts would be more reasonable per person.
However, this is not something you just read about and are powerless to change. You have the power of your voice. Currently, HB 2567 and SB 5828, companion bills, are being considered to restore those funds before the cuts affect students next year. If you would like, feel free to support them. Regardless, you should check them out and educate yourself on them, as they will impact your classmates and friends.
To learn more about specific bills, go to the Washington State Legislature’s website and search for the bill by its respective number. You can see where the bill is currently in the legislative process, and all bill versions at the bottom. On this page, you can also find ways to engage with your legislators on that specific bill.
The three main ways to engage with legislators are to schedule a meeting with them, to submit written testimony or to provide live testimony during a hearing on your bill. You should see those options on the right-hand side of the screen. As someone who has done all three, the most impactful is definitely the live testimony. If you are unable to do so in person, there is also a Zoom option. The easiest option is to just sign “pro” or “con” for any bill. Signing pro is also a powerful way to show the legislature what the people think about the bill, and it only takes a minute.
You should also schedule a meeting with your legislator, whether you are local or just living in Seattle for school. By talking to your legislator, you can get the point across about your priorities as a voter and citizen.
Diego Gonzalez is a third-year criminal justice major and the president of Student Government of Seattle University.
