The lobbyists will be younger than usual in Springfield on Wednesday. This year's Student Lobby Day will include students from Augustana, and 17 other private colleges around the state.
Kai Swanson, special assistant to the president of Augustana, will take five students to the capitol, and they'll urge legislators from the Quad Cities to support the monetary award program, known as MAP. He says all five are using MAP scholarships to pay for college.
Swanson says, despite its financial problems, Illinois has maintained funding for the MAP program, but the General Assembly and governor really need to raise its appropriations if they want to help the state.
Currently about 26 per cent of Augustana students receive help from the monetary award program.
Other members of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities include Monmouth, Millikin, and Illinois Wesleyan.