By Terry Strickland
Published on February 13, 2008
Later this month, Pensacola Junior College’s Student Government Association will be joining with junior and community colleges from throughout Florida to lobby the state legislature, said Scott Crongeyer, SGA President of the Milton campus.
The “Rally in Tally,” as the Tallahassee campaign is called, is an initiative of the Florida Junior/Community College Student Government Association. The FJCCSGA has 27 member institutions, one of which is PJC. Together, these member colleges represent nearly a million students.
SGA representatives will spend Mar. 26 and 27 in Tallahassee, during which time they will meet with congressman from throughout the state and voice their opinion on issues ranging from textbook affordability to an initiative aimed at encouraging college students to vote.
The FJCCSGA held its annual state conference last month. During the conference, Student Government representatives from PJC and other Florida colleges voted to determine what the organization’s agenda would be during next month’s lobbying session.
“We vote on issues that are affecting college students,” said Crongeyer. In Tallahassee, the FJCCSGA will be pushing the resolutions that were passed during the conference sessions.
One issue that the FJCCSGA will be tackling during the session is textbook affordability. The organization is pursuing legislation that would require professors to make textbook lists available no later than 30 days before the first day of classes, said Ben Anderson, Director of Legislative Staff for the FJCCSGA.
This piece of legislation would give students more time to search for the best price on a required textbook. However, Anderson emphasized that this is only one facet of the FJCCSGA’s fight for textbook affordability. The organization is also pursuing other solutions.
“This is a much bigger issue that will not be solved with one piece of legislation,” said Anderson. However, he said, this piece of legislation is a “first step” out of many that will open up a broader discussion of the issue of textbook affordability. He is hopeful that this discussion will lead to a brighter, more affordable future for Florida’s college students.