The ISU Government of the Student Body has taken its battle against tuition hikes to the Iowa Legislature. The group is working to ensure Iowa State receives enough state money to make needed improvements.”There’s basically two stages to a tuition fight,” said Andy Tofilon, GSB director of intergovernmental affairs. “One with the legislature and one with the Board of Regents.”GSB members teamed up with student government leaders from the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa during the legislative session last spring. The student leaders united in protest of a state appropriation cut that stripped millions of dollars from the regent institutions. This fall, the students also made presentations to the state Board of Regents against the 9.9 percent tuition increase that was approved for the 2001-2002 school year.”We’ve been meeting with the legislative leaders to figure out what the landscape is going to be for this session,” Tofilon said. “We have a lot on the line.”Tofilon said GSB is working with ISU administrators on the legislative funding issues. He said the three areas of concern for Iowa State are the full funding of teacher salaries, money for the Plant Sciences Institute and a $10 million grant for the new Gerdin Business Building.Alex Olson, off campus, said education is a statewide, nonpartisan issue.”Everyone cares about education,” he said. “We’re in the planning stages, but we’re optimistic. Hopefully, we can iron out the differences before it hits the respective committees and the floors.”Another decrease in state funding ultimately would be made up by students, Tofilon said. “We have gotten unconfirmed reports from a lot of people that if we do not get the money we’re asking for in the state legislature, we could see a tuition increase of up to 15 percent in the next year,” he said. “If appropriations are not enough, students are going to pay for it in the form of tuition.”