This semester, the Associated Student Body is launching a committee tasked with keeping tabs on state and federal legislation. The Legislative Advocacy Board, made up of nine students, will research social and political issues, write briefs and help keep ASB informed about what is happening in Mississippi and across the nation.
ASB President Sara Austin Welch explained how the creation of this board has required several years to achieve.
“(The LAB) has been a pre-existing ASB initiative that had gone dormant for a few years, but it was one of the first things on my to-do list when I got in office,” Welch said.
Welch explained how the LAB might function to participate in political initiatives and advocate for Mississippi students.
“The Mississippi financial aid legislation (substantially changing student aid programs) floating around last year was something that the LAB might have helped lobby against,” Welch said. “This is a nonpartisan group that needs to hear student concerns because there are only so many things that we can fix at a university level. We must reach beyond that for advocacy to keep students’ voices heard.”
The following students were chosen for the legislative body on behalf of the Principal of External Affairs Benjamin Jackson: Calloway Bills, Charlie Conner, Connor Hamilton, Hannah Hammond, Jana Abdrabbo, Kristen Davis, Madison Denton, Omobola Obasanjo and Wake Monroe.
The LAB will coordinate directly with Jackson, who was vital in the creation of the board. He believes forming relationships with students and elected officials is the first goal of the board.
“(These relationships) will allow for more transparency in future endeavors and an easier time enacting changes and policies that will benefit students at a quicker rate,” Jackson said. “In order to accomplish this objective to its fullest extent, we have purposefully chosen a highly diverse group to serve in these capacities.”
Jackson also said hearing about the student body’s issues is immensely important for the LAB.
“This board is meant to be for students, by students,” Jackson said. “We want to hear about issues that students are facing, especially those that involve local, state or national level policymaking. Our goal is to lobby on behalf of students to those officials that students might otherwise have no means of interacting with.”