ASUN joins Association of Big Ten Students, to lead legislative conference

At a conference comprised of student leaders from Big Ten universities, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln student government, ASUN, was accepted for membership into the Association of Big Ten Students -- the official student voice for Big Ten schools.

The conference was held Aug. 6-8 on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus. An amendment to the association's bylaws to immediately include the University of Nebraska as a member in the body was unanimously approved.

Later in the conference UNL student leaders agreed to be the lead hosts for the inaugural Big Ten student advocacy effort in Washington, D.C.

"We were slated to host a similar conference for Big 12 schools this year," said ASUN President Justin Solomon of Omaha, "but the political climate during the days leading up to our decision to join the Big Ten led us to believe we would not be effective with some state legislators."

The Big Ten is targeting March for its conference in Washington, D.C. Leaders from each of the member schools will meet with representatives on Capitol Hill and government officials to address issues relating to higher education and advocate for student interests.

Other topics discussed at the Association of Big Ten Students conference included campus safety, communication efforts, and funding issues on the respective campuses.

UNL student representatives attended the conference included Solomon; Jamie Dick of Aurora, ASUN external vice president; Lane Carr of Ainsworth, government liaison committee chair and College of Arts and Sciences senator; and Kelsey Redding of Omaha, College of Business Administration senator.

The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska is the student government of UNL. ASUN serves as the representative voice for UNL students. ASUN works to gather input from all students, advocating student concerns to the administration, and provides services in an effort to improve the campus and enhances the overall college experience for Huskers. Find more on the Web at www.unl.edu/asun.

WRITER: Justin Solomon