Several representatives from the Government of the Student Body will go to the Capitol today to make students voices heard at the annual Day on the Hill event.

“The schedule is never set until we get there,” said Jon Turk, GSB president. “Last year we arrived and the legislatures went into caucus.

Turk said this year the plan is for students to target their hometown representatives after arrival, followed by a luncheon and a joint statement from Turk and student body presidents of the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. This year GSB members will lobby against State Study Bill 3030.

The bill now reads, “The state board of regents shall not be required to obtain any service for the state board of regents or any institution under the control of the state board of regents that is provided by the department pursuant to this chapter without the consent of the state board of regents.”

This bill would create a centralized office for information technology for the Board of Regents schools and is being looked at as a cost saving effort, Turk said.

“We have three schools each with 15- to 20,000 students who pay for IT services,” Turk said. “This would prevent schools from choosing their own e-mail carriers.”

Every time anyone had difficulties logging on to their school Web accounts, they would have to make a phone call to the central office in Des Moines, Turk said.

“It’s a rare opportunity when we match up, when we are there and when a specific piece of legislation is there,” Turk said.

Last year GSB lobbied for a text book refund. The bill was not submitted.

The bill may possibly come up again in the future, but student leaders agreed that this year was not the time to ask the state to give up $3 million in tax dollars, Turk said.

If enough students take advantage of the tax rebates that are offered when filing individual taxes, the $3 million total will drop, making the bill more likely to be submitted in the future, Turk said.

Next year’s tuition will be voted on by the Board of Regents today, but GSB is still discussing the effects of tuition costs on students.

The state has cut 25 percent of this university’s budget, bringing the total down to the same budget it was in 1997, whereas the state is still running at the same level it was in 2004, Turk said.

“We understand this is an economic downturn, but we need to remind the state of Iowa its commitment to education,” Turk said. “They need to remember we are important, too.”

GSB Vice President Chandra Peterson agreed.

“This is our chance to get together with senate and cabinet members from UNI and Iowa and voice the same thoughts and same messages. It’s a great chance to be heard,” Peterson said.

Anthony Maly, a Liberal Arts and Sciences senator, said going to the Capitol is worthwhile.

“It shows the legislatures students care about the issues and want to get involved,” Maly said.