Collegiate Times

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, Virginia Tech students will travel to Richmond for the annual “Hokie Day,” a lobbying event sponsored by the SGA and Alumni Association.

More than 100 Tech students will pile into three charter buses to drive to the General Assembly and lobby for issues related to higher education.

“SGA this year has really put a priority on reaching out to the state government,” said Scott Bennett, a senior agriculture major, political science minor and the SGA’s director of government affairs. “The students going every year is what really puts a face to the name.”

After lunch with the Alumni Association, students will spend three hours inside the Virginia State Capitol building talking to legislators.

“We talk to them about current issues going on with higher education,” said Caroline Gimenez, a junior math major who is attending Hokie Day this year.

“It really makes a difference to hear it from students themselves, (like) personal stories about how I’m living in a lounge with four other people because we don’t have enough housing available for freshmen.”

To prepare, participants completed three hour-long training sessions, said Adam Smith, a junior finance major who is also going to the event.

“When people apply, they are asked to give their district number,” Gimenez said. “We make appointments over break, or once session has started, to go visit our senator and delegate from our own district about current issues going on.”  

Being a part of Hokie Day can also offer career advantages. Students can give their resumes and network with legislators, Bennett said.

“I know a lot of my friends have gotten internships and actual job offers just from talking to legislators,” Gimenez said.

Over the past couple of years, attendance at Hokie Day has nearly doubled.

“(For) the past two or three years, it has really kind of gained traction,” Bennett said, “In 2010, we had about 65 people go, last year we had about 85 people go and this year we have about 120 people going.”

A version of this article appeared in the Jan 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.