A group of about 20 UF students will join hundreds more students in Tallahassee today to lobby for an end to tuition hikes and budget cuts, as well as fair representation on the board that governs the State University System.
These topics highlight the legislative agenda for the the Florida Student Association, which is holding its annual Rally in Tally today at 1 p.m. in the state capitol.
Student Government External Affairs Director Billy Vranish is leading a group from UF to participate.
Students will meet with legislators in addition to rallying on the capitol steps.
FSA chairman Michael Long cited affordable tuition as the the top issue for the students this legislative session.
Traveling from school to school, it's easy to see that the No.1 issue on students' minds is the rising cost of tuition, said Long, a sophomore who is co-president of the student body at New College of Florida.
According to the legislative agenda prepared by FSA, the group is asking lawmakers to maintain the current level of funding for higher education without increasing tuition.
Another priority, Long said, is student representation on the Board of Governors, the State University System's highest governing body.
The student representative on the Board of Governors is elected from among the 10 university student body presidents in the FSA. Long is currently serving as the representative.
A bill now under consideration would give Gov. Rick Scott the power to appoint the position, displacing the current process.
"How is the governor going to better identify a student leader than student leaders themselves?" Long said.
A separate group of 10 UF students is making the trip as part of the statewide student activist group Florida Alliance for Student Action.
Cassia Laham, 22, organized the trip. The political science senior said although the students are not going to lobby as part of the FSA's effort, they feel students don't go to the capitol during the legislative session often enough.
"There is a legislative session that is going to affect everyone's pockets," she said.
The group is also advocating for many of the same issues as FSA, including an end to tuition hikes and cuts to higher education budgets and Bright Futures scholarships.
Long said the trip is not only a lobbying mission but also an educational experience for students.
It's a chance for students to learn about the legislative process, he said.
The Florida Student Association is an independent nonprofit organization representing nearly 300,000 students at 10 institutions in the State University System, according to the association's website.
