Daum Starts Lobbying 4 Weeks Into Session

In the spring, Daum volunteered to lead students in lobbying efforts aimed at the N.C. General Assembly during the summer. The student-run group aims to convince legislators to spare UNC from deep budget cuts as state legislators try to close a $2 billion hole in the state budget.

Wednesday was slated to be the group's first appearance in Raleigh. The day is tagged State Legislature Day, and it is the first time this group had gotten together to lobby this summer. Daum said individuals had gone to Senate hearings but the group decided to wait until the House took up the budget. "We weren't as concerned about what the Senate would come up with," she said.

The budget the Senate approved last week contained a 2.4 percent, or $42 million, cut to the UNC system -- a number far less than what most University administrators had anticipated. Daum said she thought the students could make more of an impact when the House took up the budget.

The group hopes to convince House members to listen to the Senate's budget proposals. Many of the students who attend will be searching for their own representative to show concern about higher education budget cuts. Daum said that if students cannot find their own representatives, then they will be targeting University alumni in the House.

"We will be knocking on doors until we find who we need to," Daum said.

Daum said time constraints on students during the summer make it hard for everyone to get together.

Students who could not be in the area Wednesday have other jobs assigned to them, Daum explained. "We are going to be really pressing the students who aren't around to be writing their legislators."

Daum said student government officers plan to make many more trips to Raleigh now that the budget bill is in the House.

Branson Page, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, said he was out of town for the beginning of summer break but that before he left he went to Raleigh and spoke with a few House members. He also said he kept in contact with Jen and his officers while he was gone.

Page said he thinks Daum has done what she needed to do and that she has done a good job keeping the Carolina Lobby Corps and other students interested and informed about lobbying. "Because the Senate has been so positive, it's hard to badger them," he said.

Nic Heinke, student body president during the 1999-2000 school year, said his term in office was quite different than what Daum faces. While in office, Heinke had extensive practice lobbying and voicing students' concerns to government officials. During the early parts of the summer, students lobbied for a bond referendum to fund capital improvements in the UNC system.

Heinke said that every summer is different and that he thinks Daum is right where she needs to be. "There really hasn't been a big need for the University to push yet," he said. "When (Daum) has to push is beginning now when the House deals with the budget."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.