Students staying on campus this summer might get a chance to learn how to lobby legislators.
Student Body President-elect Jen Daum is developing a course to teach students how to learn influential tricks of the trade.
Daum said students' lack of knowledge about lobbying is a major reason why the University's governing bodies have not been receptive to students' concerns in matters like the recent tuition proposals. "Students have not been as effective as they could have been because they have not been as educated," she said. "This class will allow students to be educated about how lobbying works, what to lobby for and how the system works."
Daum said she will spend time during Spring Break planning the course, which likely will be offered during one of the University's summer sessions. She said she has meetings scheduled with representatives from the School of Government and the APPLES service learning program.
Mary Morrison, director of APPLES, said her program is receptive to collaborating with Daum and to the proposed course. "We're happy to talk to her about her ideas," she said.
Morrison said the first step in developing an APPLES course is to identify a faculty member interested in teaching it.
Daum said she is considering recruiting a faculty member to teach the course, although she still has to determine the legality of doing so. State law places some restrictions on how much state employees can air their grievances publicly.
But judging from the reaction of Chancellor James Moeser when the Student Advisory Committee proposed the course, Daum said she is not concerned about whether the lobbying course can be implemented. "The chancellor has been warm to the idea," she said.
Although the content of the course has not been specified, Daum said the skills taught will be applied. "We'll be going to Raleigh and putting our new-found skills to work," she said.
