The UNC Association of Student Governments met to propose a trip to Washington, D.C. in order to present recommendations to the U.S. Department of Education.
This trip has the potential to be very valuable if the ASG is able to avoid its past issues with a lack of attendance at meetings and frivolous use of funds.
The ASG has gained a reputation of having a hard time motivating its members to actually show up for its meetings. This lack of participation has translated into failure with lobbying the N.C. General Assembly in the past.
Given ASG must represent student interests to lawmakers, it is imperative that it fully commits to its own lobbying efforts come its trip to Washington, D.C.
The ASG must also work to manage the finances connected to this trip. It has received criticism in the past for paying for hotel rooms that go unused. Given that students at multiple N.C. universities, including UNC, are critical of the $1 fee each student must pay toward ASG, the association must work to control wanton spending on this trip.
Despite these past criticisms, the ASG has shown that it is working to fix the problems. Members have instituted reforms and moved away from the problems of the past. They have shown a trend of cutting cost in past trips to D.C.
By adhering to these reforms, the ASG can show that it is truly committed to change and make an impactful outreach to policymakers in D.C.
