We Went to Juneau for YOU

Authored by ASUAF President Jackson Nelson

ASUAF Juneau Delegation: ASUAF External Affairs Chair Brynn Illingworth, ASUAF Senate Chair Bonnie Brennan, and Jackson Nelson, president

One of the most common questions we get at ASUAF is some version of "what do you guys actually do?" A lot of what student government does happens behind closed doors: advocating for individual students, pushing policy, and representing the student body in rooms most students never see. One of the biggest examples of that is our ongoing advocacy to the Alaska Legislature and our recent trip to Juneau. So we want to pull back the curtain a bit, because "student government went to Juneau" probably sounds like an abstract thing that doesn't affect you. It very much does. 

That work starts months before anyone sets foot in Juneau. Early in the year, we sat down with several of UAF's vice chancellors and walked through the university's budget requests together, what UAF was asking for and what students had been telling us they wanted legislators to hear. At some point in that meeting, Vice Chancellor Queen slid a massive document across the table. The UA Red Book. It's essentially the university's full legislative priorities laid out in one place, and it is not a light read. We spent weeks going through it, cross-referencing it with conversations we were having with students and data we had gathered. We also did a deep dive on every legislator we were going to meet, their districts, their values and their voting records. 

By the time we landed in Juneau, we were ready as we could be.

We learned the rhythm of the capitol pretty fast. It’s constant motion. We were power walking down long hallways, glancing at our phones to make sure we’re not late to the next meeting. We had fifteen minutes to make our case, then we’re back out the door, trying to catch someone in between hearings or waiting outside a committee room hoping for a quick hallway conversation. By the third or fourth meeting, we learned to deliver our message without even thinking about it. 

One of the most striking things about Juneau was how many UAF alumni we encountered. People joked that UAF practically runs the Alaska Legislature. We met graduates from every decade going back to the 1960s, many of whom once served on ASUAF. Chad Hutchison, UA's state relations director told us: "Being in the Capitol is like watching the Alaska Constitution at work." That’s exactly what it feels like. 

We went to Juneau with two simple priorities:

Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF)

One of our primary focuses this session was the Higher Education Investment Fund, or HEIF, the endowment that powers two critical scholarship programs: the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS), which rewards high-achieving students, and the Alaska Education Grant, which supports lower-income students who need it most. The HEIF was designed to be a permanent, self-sustaining fund. The idea was elegant and fiscally conservative: invest the principal, live off the earnings, and fund scholarships indefinitely without relying on annual appropriations. 

Last fiscal year, ~$130 million was withdrawn from the fund to cover a short-term budget gap. The balance dropped from roughly $435 million to about $305 million. In just the first six months after that withdrawal, treasury estimates show the fund missed out on approximately $7.8 million in earnings it would have otherwise generated. To put that in perspective: those lost earnings alone could have funded nearly 40% of current APS recipients for an entire year. The problem isn't just today's shortfall because every time the principal shrinks, the fund earns less going forward permanently. We spent a lot of time this past week making that argument to the people who need to hear it. Progress is slow, deliberate, and deeply political. The APS scholarship, specifically, is worth defending. Seventy-three percent of recipients say the scholarship influenced their decision to attend an Alaska institution. They graduate faster, enter the workforce sooner, and stay in Alaska at higher rates. 

Mental Health Services

The other major priority we brought to Juneau was mental health resources. UAF students already direct nearly a fifth of their consolidated fee toward health and counseling services. It still isn't enough. Demand consistently outpaces capacity. The University of Alaska system is requesting $965,000 in mental health funding this session. UAF's portion, $350,000, would fund a full-time clinical psychologist at the Student Health and Counseling Center, and establish a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral residency program. This would provide another counselor as well as a workforce pipeline: more supervised trainees, a path toward APA accreditation, and psychological testing services that students currently have almost no access to. 

In conversations about mental health, we led with lived experience more so than data. Yes, we had the numbers, but they weren’t what carried the most weight in the room. In Alaska, you don’t need a slideshow to explain what months of darkness and isolation can do. Every one of us has felt the weight of an Alaska winter (especially this year) or watched someone we care about struggle. Legislators have felt it too. The conversations were honest and human in a way that felt different from other policy discussions, and many of them genuinely seemed to resonate with this clear need among constituents.

The Work Continues

Change in government rarely happens overnight. It happens through repetition, persistence, and showing up again and again and again. 

We made sure legislators heard from students who are trying to afford college. From students who rely on scholarships. From students who are waiting weeks for counseling appointments. We carried those stories into every meeting.

So the next time someone asks what student government actually does, send them this. Because it's not always visible, and it's not always glamorous, but it’s always for you. 

ASUAF meets every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Students are welcome to join and voice concerns to the members of the senate. For students not attending in-person, Zoom links are available at www.uaf.edu/asuaf/meetings.