Students from around the country will gather in Washington DC this weekend for the annual Legislative Conference of the United States Student Association. USSA’s Leg Con, one of the nation’s largest student activist conferences, is always a big deal, but this year it’s absolutely huge, for two reasons.

First, there’s the March 4 Day of Action.

Just two weeks ago — two weeks ago exactly — tens of thousands of students from all over the US joined together in a coordinated day of activism. Many of the activists involved in planning and carrying out those events will be in DC this weekend, making this conference their first chance to compare notes, exchange new ideas, and discuss what the Day of Action means for the future of American student organizing.

Second, there’s SAFRA.

Nine days ago, beltway pundits were writing stories about the imminent demise of SAFRA, the student aid reform bill that would transform both higher education loans, financial aid, and university funding. But student activists, led by USSA and a few other groups, bombarded the Hill with a two-day blitz of phone calls, emails, and faxes, by the end of which SAFRA’s chances had been revitalized.

SAFRA is bundled with the “reconciliation” bill that’s being used to pass health care reform, and this weekend is going to be crunch time for that bill. The House vote on reconciliation could come as early as Sunday, with the Senate vote anytime after that. Leg Con starts on Saturday, and the student attendees are scheduled to hit the Hill for a full day of lobbying on Tuesday.

You see where this is going.

I haven’t been to Leg Con in a very long time, but I’ll be there this weekend. Hope to see you there, and if I don’t … watch this space.

Update | Commenters have noted that there’s a bunch of other big stuff going on in DC this weekend. Impressive.