Kansas (1998)
Civic participation
plays an important role in higher education institutions. Students have complemented
their classroom education with hands-on experience addressing issues such as
foreign policy, the environment, education funding, and others. Campus groups
have sponsored debates on public policy issues, organized grassroots campaigns,
and even hired staff to help students participate in the marketplace of ideas.
However, in Kansas much
of this civic activity has been banned. A Regent policy banning student fee
use to support lobbying and "off-campus" activities was enacted in
1993 after Representative Tim Shallenburger asked the attorney general to look
at the use of student fees.
The Impact
The restriction on student fee use has led to the
loss of once-strong campus institutions. Especially hard hit by the new lobbying
policy was the Associated Students of Kansas. Once a thriving advocacy group
representing the interests of students, ASK was forced to close their doors.
At their height, ASK represented over 70,000 students, had 3 full-time staff,
and worked on issues ranging from affordable tuition to increasing financial
aid funding.
The lobby ban has also diminished
the voice of student governments in the marketplace of ideas. One example of
this exists at the University of Kansas, where student government leaders are
trying to improve information technology on campus. Student Association President
Scott Sullivan expressed concern that there are over 50 students for every computer
on campus. However, under current policy student government leaders cannot use
student fees to mobilize their peers and convey their concerns to the legislature.
"It (the lobbying policy) has made it more difficult for us to do a lot
of the things we'd like to," said Sullivan.
Hope for
a Change
Working with students at Fort Hays State University, the Center
has uncovered hopeful news regarding the validity of the ban on lobbying. Our
research has discovered that the case law upon which the attorney general based
his policy recommendations has been implicitly overruled and changed to favor
campus speech. Kansas campuses can make a strong case for overturning restrictions
on students' ability to be active, political citizens.
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