Mizzell, McCullough join satellite campus representatives
Student Body President Chase Mizzell and Student Government Secretary of Governmental Affairs Austin McCullough spent fall break in Washington, lobbying South Carolina’s representatives and senators.
Mizzell and McCullough joined the student body presidents of USC’s system campuses, bringing the university’s message to the offices of each congressman and senator that represents the state. They also talked about representing students at the federal level with the National Campus Leadership Council and met Vice President Joe Biden.
Although USC’s Columbia campus sends its Congressional Advisory Board members to the nation’s Capitol each spring, this was the first trip to represent each of USC’s system campuses.
“One of the opportunities for improvement that I saw upon becoming president of Student Government was to bring up and involve the leaders of our various system campuses,” Mizzell said. “The system campuses are rooted in communities around the state, and (are) therefore relevant to each of our congressmen at the federal level and also represent the strength of the university through its geographic diversity around the state.”
The SG leaders said the trip was productive in accomplishing its unique purpose.
“I found that we were able to represent the University of South Carolina, particularly the system campuses, in a way that we had not formerly taken advantage of, to the policymakers, to the directly elected officials who have some of the largest impact on bettering and furthering the work we do as a university,” McCullough said.
The trip’s participants also garnered valuable personal experiences.
“It was also a productive time for and a great learning experience for those of us who were able to go on the trip, kind of getting a little bit more of a hands-on experience on how policy comes up, as well as discussing with some of the foremost experts in the field some of the issues that are very pressing to our campus communities,” McCullough said.
Mizzell, McCullough and the representatives of the other campuses discussed student-specific topics in Washington, including the affordability of college.
Mizzell said they focused on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which covers student aid, and student loan debt, including interest rates and payment methods.
For Mizzell, one of the most valuable parts of the trip was the combination of representing the student body and meeting prominent leaders.
“The ability for us to meet with our congressional offices, the ability for us to meet with educational organizations that could help further our ability and information in education … — the balance of those were what made the trip so valuable,” Mizzell said.
One of the best parts of the trip for McCullough was getting to see “a little piece of Carolina in almost every part of Washington,” he said.
While sitting in the vice president’s waiting room, he saw a model of Williams-Brice Stadium, and they watched Saturday’s football game with USC’s Washington alumni chapter.
“To me, one of the most interesting, as well as kind of uplifting, facts about the trip was that all of the opportunities that were presented to us … were through former Gamecocks,” McCullough said. “It was very reinvigorating to see how much of a presence and how much of a level of respect that we garner as a university and as a Carolina family in all branches of our federal government.”
One of the biggest challenges of the trip was caused by the government’s partial shutdown, which ended late the Wednesday before the trip.
“It required a great deal of flexibility,” McCullough said. “That was a challenge, I guess you could say, but it did make the trip that much more exciting.”
Mizzell and McCullough said they hope this excursion is continued and improved upon in the future.
McCullough said he thinks efforts like the trip help to better leverage the voice of the student body.
“We as a university, as a whole, have a broad, sweeping impact on our state, our communities and our nation,” McCullough said. “The student body has a very strong impact as well, but perhaps previously didn’t take full advantage of the voice that they have and the gravity that comes along with that voice on all levels of government.”