By: Zayd Hamid, contributing writer for the PW Perspective

For the twelfth consecutive year, George Mason University students met with Virginia legislators to advocate for their and their university’s budget priorities. Mason Lobbies 2025 occurred on February 12^th, but due to weather complications, it happened virtually rather than in Richmond.

Despite the weather complications, George Mason students connected with over two dozen legislators’ offices, including meeting with Prince William County representative Delegate Michelle Maldonado. These meetings occurred shortly before each chamber’s budget versions went into a conference to reconcile differences. Recognizing this, the students’ message was clear: they acknowledged that budget conferences are a place of wins and losses but urged that student financial aid funding is too critical to cut. 

Pierce Ramos, chief of staff for George Mason Student Government, led the student delegation meeting with Delegate Maldonado. “Our students are concerned about affordability and financial accessibility,” he said. “The burden of paying for college is something that most students have significant worry about, and threats to financial aid programs are only further threatening the academic future of students.” Ramos looks forward to future opportunities to amplify student voices to ensure that “equitable access to education is a non-negotiable right for all students.”

The conference-approved budget showed that legislators were receptive to this message. In George Mason’s “Richmond Recap” newsletter, State Government Relations Director Lauren Posey lauded the approved budget. “The General Assembly’s passed budget amendments that would provide essential resources to George Mason included over $11M in new funding for affordability maintenance, operations, and SBDC support; nearly $2M in new financial aid; over $28M in one-time maintenance reserve funds; $140M in funding to offset VMSDEP waivers split between institutions of higher education across FY25 and FY26; and 1.5% employee bonuses among other provisions.” Posey noted that should this budget be approved as-is by the governor, it would “mark one of the most significant second-year budget increases in recent George Mason history.” 

George Mason Student Government shares Posey’s excitement, celebrating a job well done by students and government relations staff. Jason Menjivar, the organization’s undersecretary for state and local government relations, is proud of his team’s successes. “The work that was done by George Mason students during Mason Lobbies is vital to the future success of the university and student body,” he said. “Such an engaged student body made this year’s advocacy a success and we look forward to seeing the positive impact the work of this year’s students will have on the university.” A junior at George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government, Menjivar looks forward to using the skills he gained from Mason Lobbies in a career in public service at the local or state government level.

Local legislators praised the George Mason student advocates. “Student advocacy at the General Assembly brings fresh, new perspectives and energy to the policymaking process that otherwise would not be there. Everything we do as legislators will have an impact on the world that our students will graduate into, and their voices have been invaluable to refining the ideas and policies that flow from Richmond,” Delegate Maldonado said. “That’s why I always look forward to meeting with GMU students each year. They consistently bring thoughtful insights and propose important legislative solutions.”

Delegate David Bulova, who represents George Mason’s main campus in Fairfax, concurs with Delegate Maldonado’s takeaway on student leadership and advocacy. “George Mason students are the future of this Commonwealth. They’re the leaders who will take us into the next era with respect to policy and funding important programs. It’s exciting to me to see these leaders step up.” He encourages more George Mason students to make the trip to Richmond next year, calling on other emerging advocates to partake in advocacy to state legislators to “see how powerful that can be in terms of moving the needle.” 

“When it comes to access and affordability to higher education, Richmond is where those decisions are made,” Delegate Bulova continued. “Every year, we make decisions about how we prioritize the budget, so it’s really important for students to have their voices heard so that we know this is a priority with respect to Virginia’s future.”