Julia Busiek, UC Newsroom
![3名身着商务装的UCAN学生大使在国会大厦前微笑](/sites/default/files/styles/article_default_banner/public/UCAN%20ambassadors%20header.jpg?h=15527e9f&itok=qkosmKxG)
“我们需要一些东西来填补这个空白,减轻学生的压力,这样我们就可以专注于学习,” says Heard. 他对保持专注略知一二:他在繁重的工程课程和本科生研究员的工作之间取得了平衡, and is founder and president of Bobcat Community Builders这是一个学生组织,其使命是缓解默塞德的无家可归现象,减少食物浪费. 今年,希尔德在他繁忙的日程中又增加了一项课外活动:他是一名志愿者 UC Advocacy Network Student Ambassador, 与来自整个系统的学生一起,他们代表大学及其学生向萨克拉门托和华盛顿的政府领导人倡导.
Earlier this month, 希尔德是九名正规欧洲杯买球网站洛杉矶分校学生大使之一,他们前往华盛顿,为直接影响大量正规欧洲杯买球网站学生的联邦政策辩护. 两天多来,希尔德和其他大使会见了民选官员或他们的工作人员. 他们分享了自己的经历和从校园里的学生那里听到的故事.
![9 UC students pose in front of the U.S. Capitol building](/sites/default/files/2024-04/UCAN%20ambassadors%20at%20Capitol.jpg)
Speaking up for Pell Grants, basic needs assistance and FAFSA fixes
In each meeting, 大使们提倡三项政策,以帮助解决大学生面临的一些最大问题, at UC and across the country.
First, they made the case for increasing investment in the Pell Grant program, so recipients would be eligible for a maximum of $14,每学年800美元的学费补助,并将未来的补助上限与通货膨胀挂钩.
“A generation ago, the Pell grant covered 75 percent of tuition costs for recipients, and now it’s only 30 percent,” Heard says. “Our ask to double the Pell would still not get us to that 75 precent mark that it used to be, but it would be much better than what it is now.”
![AJ Heard在美国国会大厦前的绿色草坪上讲话,用手比划着](/sites/default/files/2024-04/AJ%20Heard.jpg)
UC Merced third-year engineering student AJ Heard
Next, 大使们倡导《正规欧洲杯买球网站》, 哪项提案将设立一项竞争性的助学金,帮助大学为入不敷出的学生支付一些住房和食品费用. Although this legislation has not yet been introduced in this Congress, 大使们敦促成员国更多地了解它,并在它重新引入后签署为共同提案国. As part of his ambassador role, 希尔德在这一学年的大部分时间里都在和正规欧洲杯买球网站默塞德分校的学生谈论他们面临的挑战. Through dozens of these conversations, 他了解到学校确实提供了许多资源来缓解学生的经济压力.
“We actually have a pretty solid system for helping students meet these basic needs 在正规欧洲杯买球网站默塞德分校,如此之多,以至于其他大学也来了,想要模仿我们提供的东西,”赫德说. “Still, 这是有限的:每周只有那么多人可以使用我们的食品储藏室, for instance, and once that those slots are all filled up, you can't go.”
Finally, 大使们向议员们讲述了更新后的FAFSA表格的混乱推出的后果, and urged Congress to continue working with the Department of Education on fixes.
“The FAFSA process was really difficult this year,” says Tara Nguyen, a student ambassador who’s in her second year at UC San Diego. Nguyen shared stories from her own experiences as a first-generation student, and reminded them that roughly a third of UC students are also first-generation, 对于那些家庭以前从未经历过这一过程的学生来说,这种延误和困惑尤其具有挑战性.
Representing UC students in D.C. and beyond
Heard recognizes that when lawmakers hear directly from students, it has a unique power to keep policies moving forward. “I’ve heard so many stories from students this year, and I feel like our advocacy brought those stories to light,” he says. “大多数与我分享他们故事的学生都无法与我在D中交谈过的人交谈.C., so I just wanted to relay their voices.”
“Honestly, I was pretty nervous going into the meetings. I had a little script prepared and everything,” Nguyen says. 一些工作人员已经对阮所倡导的政策有了详细的了解, 因此,这些对话是大使们了解美国在这些问题上已经采取的措施的一个机会.C., as well as for policymakers to learn more about the people who stand to benefit. “我们与会员和员工的互动比我想象的要轻松得多. 工作人员真的只是想与我们接触,向我们学习,”她说.
![正规欧洲杯买球网站学生与加州众议员凯蒂·波特在最高法院大楼的台阶上合影](/sites/default/files/2024-04/Tara%20Nguyen.jpg)
UCAN Student Ambassadors Frank Granda, Tara Nguyen and Nima Elie meet with Calif. Representative Katie Porter in Washington.