ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, is sending a team of delegates to the Association of Big Ten Students Conference, or ABTS, this weekend hosted by Northwestern University in Chicago.
The ABTS Conference is a meeting of Big Ten student governments and allows delegates from each school to discuss and debate current student issues. The conference also gives student governments a chance to vote on legislation or propose new bills which will lay groundwork for ASMSU’s lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., called Big Ten on the Hill, in April.
At the ABTS Conference, Big Ten schools are able to propose resolutions on issues they think should be priorities for the trip to Washington, where ASMSU and other Big Ten governments lobby federal lawmakers and congressmen on issues affecting their respective student bodies.
“The biggest issue (for students) is going to be tuition ... because we are seeing it increase all the time. It is certainly something we want to work with decision makers on to come up with a plan that makes colleges affordable,” ASMSU Finance Committee Chairman Wyatt Ludman said.
Legislation at the ABTS Conference this year includes whether or not to support the Pell Grant Program, federal appropriations that support research funding, a committee to provide feedback on the new college rating system and repealing the Student Unit Record Ban.
“It’s a way for us to collaborate with each other and find better ways to do things and discuss ideas that we’ve all been talking about to speak with one voice,” ASMSU Vice President for Governmental Affairs KC Perlberg said.
The conference is a chance to gain perspectives from other Big Ten schools and to build rapport between different universities and student governments.
“We now have a great working relationship with places like Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska,” Perlberg went on to say.
The ABTS Conference is not just pivotal in creating a platform for the Big Ten’s April lobbying trip, but also focuses on allowing Big Ten schools to collaborate in strengthening their relationships between their student governments and the students they represent.
“It’s not just getting ready for Washington in April, but also how we can improve our own student government and what each student government is working on, which helps strengthen our relationships and gives us ideas on how to help our students more,” ASMSU Vice President of Special Projects Ryan Smith said.
Smith went on to encourage MSU students to communicate with their ASMSU representatives and to voice their opinions so ASMSU can better represent them when attending events such as the ABTS Conference.
