Spring Break
ASWNMU Concludes Lobbying Effort
Avelino Maestas
Issue date: 2/12/04 Section: News
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These projects, as previously reported in The Mustang, are aimed at providing funding for the Natural Sciences Department and the Information Technology Department. ASWNMU lobbied the Legislature for $100,000 towards the acquisition of a Gas Chromatograph/ Mass Spectrometer for Natural Sciences, and an additional $60,000 so that Muir Heights and Regents Row can be wired for campus network access.
HC 649, which requested funds for Natural Sciences, was sponsored and presented by Representative Manny Herrera (D. Grant, Sierra) to the House Education Committee. The Gas Chromatograph/ Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) is a piece of laboratory equipment that will be beneficial to almost every student who studies science at WNMU. According to a letter written by Dr. Ken Ladner, Department Head of Natural Science, a GC/MS is capable of breaking a sample into its chemical components. This provides students with a ready means to analyze the chemical make-up of different compounds.
Also sponsored by Representative Herrera was HC 650. It provides for the purchase and installation of network components required to connect Muir Heights and Regents Row to the University network. These halls are at 95% and 100% capacity respectively, and are the only locations on the main campus not connected to the WNMU backbone.
Dr. John Counts, WNMU President, also presented testimony to the House Education Committee. During his testimony Dr. Counts assured the Committee that if the Legislature did not provide funding for HC 650 he would find a different way to fund the initiative.
The two requests are now being considered by the Education Committee. If approved, the requests will then be brought before the full House of Representatives. The full House will vote on the requests by the end of the legislative session, February 19.
Along with Ms. Fallstich, ASWNMU Senator Mikey Rodriguez and WNMU student Kerri Wog both provided testimony to the House Education Committee. In addition, all three students participated in lobbying activities during their trip to Santa Fe. ASWNMU Senators Andy Ainsworth and Christian Schjetnan also traveled with Ms. Fallstich and Ms. Wog in January as part of ASWNMU's lobbying effort.
