Members of Penn State's student government are trying to change the perception many members of Pennsylvania's state government have toward the university.

"They see students as irresponsible. They see riots and Sex Faire, not Dance Marathon and Unity Week," said Council of Commonwealth Student Governments President Kris Ankarlo.

Ankarlo said he and Undergraduate Student Government President Justin Zartman are working on a three-step plan to achieve this goal. The first part involves visiting state congressmen in their home districts that contain Penn State campuses.

Ankarlo said the second step is to "invite them to campus so they see what Penn State is." The final component is a Penn State day in Harrisburg, where all the campuses will be represented, which he expects to happen in the spring.

He said they are lobbying for more state appropriations, because Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom of the list in support for public education, as well as for grants to be provided for fifth-year students through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.

Zartman said the goal of lobbying is to make sure the leaders in Harrisburg know what Penn State is doing for the commonwealth. It is also to humanize the issue of appropriations, so the legislators realize how the amount of funding they give Penn State affects students.

"It is so they see the faces of students," Zartman said. "So they see who they really are and what they are doing with their appropriation legislation."

Ankarlo said he is working closely with Zartman because if USG asks for one thing and CCSG asks for another, neither group would be satisfied with what they got.

"The goal of this is to go down to Harrisburg with one unified, Penn State voice," Ankarlo said.

Town Sen. Rick Smith, who chairs the Political Action Lobbying Committee (PALC) in the USG Senate, said the committee is trying to form USG policy on lobbying. Smith said the committee is hoping to smooth out differences between the USG executive branch, CCSG, and the senate in what their next step should be. PALC is looking at pushing for the reinstitution of the Tuition Challenge Grant; a program in which the state gives Penn State a certain amount of money if it keeps tuition increases under a certain level.

Ankarlo said this program would give Harrisburg control over growth of Penn State, which it should not have because Penn State is a state-related school, not a state-owned school. He said he and Zartman have been effectively lobbying since June and was worried that the senate's actions would hurt this.

"I fear the political action committee formed by senate will fracture the relationship," Ankarlo said.

Student trustee Geoff Grivner said he has been making presentations to student groups about issues surrounding the budget.

"The one thing the student body desperately needs is the facts on this issue," Grivner said."

Zartman said he and Ankarlo sent out joint letters to state legislators and several have responded in support. Grivner said he makes sure to engage the legislators and members of the governor's office that he sees at Board of Trustees events in conversation. He added that while he supports the efforts of USG and CCSG, he is going about lobbying in his own way.

"I'm working toward that same goal — to increase funding as much as possible," Grivner said, " and to make sure Penn State gets its fair share of funding."