UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Advocate Penn State’s Capital Day in Harrisburg returns to the Pennsylvania Capitol on April 14 with students from across the commonwealth, marking the University’s single-largest day of advocacy.
Capital Day offers students from University Park, the Commonwealth Campuses and Penn State World Campus the chance to meet with lawmakers to talk about their Penn State experiences and advocate for increased University funding.
Advocate Penn State also will be encouraging all Penn Staters to show their Penn State pride by contacting their elected officials through Advocate Penn State’s digital advocacy campaign.
Click here to become an advocate and take action on Capital Day.
"Current students are our best advocates, and each year Capital Day reinforces how important it is for elected officials to hear about their educational experience,” said Mike Stefan, Penn State vice president for Government and Community Relations. “While students are making their voice heard in Harrisburg, it is also crucial that they hear from the larger Penn State community of families, faculty and staff, alumni and supporters, so state leaders can see the impact of their investment on communities across the state.”
Penn State Lion Caucus
Over the years, Capital Day has engaged thousands of Penn Staters, sending tens of thousands of messages to all members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Penn State’s Lion Caucus student advocacy organization is a crucial part of Capital Day, as its members help to prepare their fellow students for conversations with legislators and spread the word throughout the general student body about University advocacy.
“It is so important for students to participate in Capital Day activities because it helps give back to a University and a community that has given us all so much,” said Jude York, Lion Caucus vice president. “It helps set up future generations of Penn State students for success in whatever endeavors they embark on.”
General support funding from the state enables Penn State to offer an average $16,000 in-state tuition discount for more than 41,000 Pennsylvania students and their families. However, Penn State and its peers have not seen an increase in funding since a 2% bump in 2019-20, a six-year stint of flat funding that Penn State hopes to end this year.
Capital Day supports the advocacy efforts for the University’s annual state appropriation. As Pennsylvania’s only land-grant university, this funding helps to keep tuition affordable for all Pennsylvania resident undergraduate students and supports Penn State’s mission of world-class accessible education, groundbreaking research, and service to the commonwealth.
In his 2026-27 budget proposal, Gov. Shapiro proposed flat funding of $242.1 million for Penn State’s general support funding, with an additional $30 million in performance-based funding to be allocated between Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh, and Temple University, per the State-Related University Performance Fund, which was passed during last year’s budget process.
Supporters who wish to join the campaign can click here for easy-to-follow instructions on how to take action to support the University and its students. Stay up to date on Capital Day and Advocate Penn State on social media on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.