About 1,700 letters advocating for a new science building were stuffed into manila envelopes that will be delivered to members of the Illinois General Assembly on April 18.

Every semester, the Student Action Team, which consists of 14 students, travels to Springfield to lobby for funds that would benefit Eastern.

In the past, members of the Student Action Team lobbied for funds for the Monetary Award Program Grant and the Renewable Energy Center.

Jarrod Scherle, the student executive vice president, said the team’s primary initiative for the lobby day on April 18 is to try and garner support for a new science building, which would cost about $81 million and would be located on the south end of The Tundra at Seventh and Ninth streets.

The Student Action Team began a letter-signing campaign that started on Feb. 15 with the goal of 1,000 letters.

The letters are addressed to Illinois senators and representatives.

“After the first week, we received about 600 signed letters so we upped the goal to 2,000,” Scherle said.

He said they also plan to deliver copies of all of the letters in a crate to Gov. Pat Quinn’s office.

Scherle said they also hope that influence from legislators may lead to funds for the new science building to move higher up in the Illinois Board of Higher Education capital improvements list.

Eastern’s request for funds is currently eighth on the list.

During the lobby day, the Student Action Team members will be divided into three groups, Luna said.

One group will deliver letters to legislators, another will meet with them individually and the last group will be calling legislators off of the floor during different sessions.

Scherle said Student Senate members have gathered signed letters from their classmates and members of different registered student organizations. About 10 Student Senate members visited six chemistry classes on Friday to collect letters.

Student Senate member Roberto Luna, a senior finance major, said Eastern implemented the Campus Improvement Fee to help fund $30 million of the new science building, and they will lobby for the state to match that amount.

“The two science buildings have $16 million in deferred maintenance, and the Life Sciences Building is short on space and brown water runs from the faucets because of rust,” Luna said.

Scherle said the decrepit conditions of the Physical Science Building personally affected him as a student.

“I used to be an engineering student before I became a business student, and I could not see myself taking classes in that building for four years,” Scherle said. “The original part of the building was constructed in the 1930s, and if Eastern wants to be a leader in the state at educating science students, then it has to up its game and provide a better facility.”

Luna collected about 50 letters from the Latin American Student Organization, he said.

Scherle also made advertisements on Facebook connecting viewers to online versions of the letters.

“The advertisements cost about $40, and I think it is worth it considering one of those clicks might be worth $80 million to the university,” Scherle said.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].