Leimenstoll starts lobbying campaign in Raleigh

Sen. Richard Stevens, R-Wake, said there is a disconnect between the current N.C. General Assembly and the UNC system.

Stevens met with Will Leimenstoll, UNC’s student body president, Monday to discuss improving 1relations between UNC students and the legislature.

Stevens said to Leimenstoll that in the past, the majority of state legislators had graduated from a UNC-system school, but that is no longer the case.

“I don’t think they don’t value the higher education system,” Leimenstoll said. “But in the face of budget cuts they don’t have the same deep connection to the place that would prevent them from cutting the budget in the past.”

“There will be a very short session this year as opposed to the past,” Leimenstoll said.

“The window of time in which we can go and have an impact with this year’s budget is small,” he said. “Our goal is to help establish a strong relationship between the state universities and the new General Assembly.”

Leimenstoll said Stevens contacted him to discuss his role as a student advocate in future UNC-system budget discussions.

Stevens said members of the General Assembly are receptive to listening to students from all UNC-system schools.

“I generally believe it’s very important for student perspectives to be heard in Raleigh by the General Assembly and for students to be advocates for issues they feel are important,” Stevens said.

Leimenstoll and other student body presidents from UNC-system schools will travel to Raleigh in the coming months to lobby for increased state funding for the system.

“We’re trying to go and show the new assembly members that state appropriation changes to the University system do have direct impact on real students and families, that these are not just abstract cuts,” he said.

“Our strength as students is we can speak from the emotional and experiential side of things, as opposed to the hard numbers side.”

Leimenstoll and Robert Walsh, N.C. State University’s student body president, will travel to Raleigh and attend legislative meetings in June.

“The more that we can work together and have a united voice, the better the outcome will be,” Leimenstoll said.

Former Student Body President Mary Cooper said working with student body presidents from other UNC-system schools is imperative for lobbying success.

“I think collaboration is always great, especially since these are the two biggest schools in the state, like State and Chapel Hill,” Cooper said. “Going with other schools, you strengthen your voice.”

Cooper said she would not have changed her lobbying strategies, but she said Leimenstoll should bring UNC students aside from student government representatives to add more diverse opinions.

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