BY ANTHONY JAMES | Sr. News Reporter
For a second year, students will walk out of class Friday to protest a second proposed 14 percent tuition increase and two bills being debated in Olympia.
Organized by the Associated Students of Central Washington University Board of Directors (ASCWU-BOD), in conjunction with the Washington Student Association (WSA), the walkout will be in protest of two bills filed last month in the state legislature: House Bill 2946 and Senate Bill 6562. Public universities across the state have similar walkouts planned for Thursday or Friday.
“We’re trying to get students aware of what’s going on and let their voices be heard,” said Anthony Peterson, ASCWU-BOD vice president of student life and facilities.
Students will meet at noon on the west patio of the Student Union and Recreation Center and walk to the Board of Trustees meeting. The event will be similar to last year, where dozens of students packed the meeting room as trustees debated a 14 percent tuition increase.
In addition to the two bills being debated by the legislature, a second 14 percent tuition increase is possible, raising resident undergraduate tuition $772 to $6,289 a year.
The WSA is promoting the statewide walkout. On President’s Day, Feb. 15, the WSA will also sponsor the annual Lobby Day event in Olympia. The ASCWU-BOD will provide a bus to transport to and from the events.
The companion bills, sponsored by Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor and Rep. Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, would shift the power of setting tuition increases to each university’s board of trustees. The state’s three largest public universities – University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University – have lobbied heavily in favor of the bills.
A public hearing for the Senate bill was held Jan. 20. The House bill has yet to have a public hearing.
Also planned are three flash mob events Tuesday and Thursday in the SURC. Students can also sign up in the ASCWU-BOD office to ride the free bus to Olympia on President’s Day. The Central branch of
Walkin’ out
With budget cuts and tuition increases looming, now more than ever Central faculty and staff are encouraging to get involved and fight to make a positive change.
Within the next thirty days, big bottom-line decisions will be made regarding the budget, and students have the power to make a change. The problem that many students face when considering what they can do to speak out against budget cuts, many feel their voices may not be heard.
“It’s almost an excuse,” said John Drinkwater, senior director for Campus Life. “Let’s stop denying that we are in tough times and work to change it.”
Drinkwater believes that students need to get organized to change the tuition increases and budget cuts before they become too out of control, which may cause students to not be able to attend school.
“There’s only so much financial aid to go around,” he said.
Drinkwater advises concerned students to have their parents write letters to legislators urging them to stop increasing tuition and increase funding for higher education because legislators are going to listen to voters.
Students themselves however should rally together, because the higher the number of students the more impact they will have on getting the message across to legislators who are making the important decisions about their future.
There are a series of upcoming events on campus that are aimed at getting students involved in knowing what is going on with legislative matters. On Friday Feb. 5, there will be a Walk Out for students to rally against budget cuts.
“Hopefully, we will be marching to the Board of Trustees meeting to make sure the trustees know the students hearts,” said Jack Barry, ASCWU-BOD Vice President for Political Affairs.
There will also be a statewide protest and rally in Olympia that will be held February 15. Students interested in attending the rally will be able to take a coach bus over to Olympia.
Lisa Schactler, Public Affairs Liaison for Central, also strongly believes that students have a say.
“Students have a very powerful voice in Olympia,” she said.
Schactler believes that students have such a powerful voice because legislators want to put a face to the budget cuts and see how it is affecting those pursuing higher education.
“Funding for higher education hasn’t been a priority for the past 10 years,” she said.
Schactler explained the while funding for community colleges is up 28 percent public universities get a 7 percent funding cut.
“There is the perception that community college is the place to go for work force training,” Schactler said.
Along with budget cuts, work study is proposed to be cut along with several scholarships, such as the Future Teachers of America Scholarship, and the Washington Award for Vocational Excellence among others.
“Finding students to come in and speak puts a face to the numbers and helps provide an important case to why higher education is important and changes lives,” Schactler said.
John McKean, legislative liaison for Central, said that last year’s lack of student presence inspired him to get more involved, and he believes the message of how important it is to stand up to issues that directly affect them is now resonating with students.
“We’re hoping to have as many people on February 15 as possible,” said John McKean,
Along with the walk out on February 5 and the rally on February 15, there are many other things that students can do to fight to change the budget cuts and tuition increases.
Students can visit www.wastudents.org which fights for issues that directly affect students such as keeping tuition affordable, financial aid support from the state and federal Government, putting a stop to high textbook prices, and promoting campus safety. The Web site has information on upcoming events and petitions to sign.
Finding your own legislator (from your hometown) and writing a letter- not e-mail with a contact address, Calling 1-800-562-6000 and asking to leave a message to the Governor’s office, visiting www.wastudents.org to sign petitions, and actually going to speak to legislators on Feb. 15 can make an impact.
“Hopefully, we will be marching to the Board of Trustees meeting to make sure the trustees know the students hearts.”JACK BARRY ASCWU-BOD Vice President for Political Affairs
The Central branch of Washington Student Association also has a group on Facebook and a YouTube account.
On Monday, an event was held in the SURC where students were able to check their outstanding loan balance and speak in a video to legislators about how higher tuition and lower financial aid would affect them. About an hour into the event, four students with a combined loan balance of $53,965 had participated.
Perris Davis, senior political science and public policy major, said the event was designed as an easy way for students to let their voices be heard. According to Davis similar events may be planned for the future.
Jack Barry, ASCWU vice president of political affairs, said the events are designed to let legislators know how important the issues are to students.
“They’ve cubby-holed higher education for so long,” Barry said.
No one group is at fault for the rising cost of education, Barry said, but the goal is to “stir the pot.”
“Of course it’s not entirely the board of trustees’ fault and it’s not the faculty’s fault,” Barry said.
Barry said he is working with Peterson and Megan Hammond, ASCWU-BOD vice president of academic affairs, to motivate students to follow their elected officials.
“People have to be pumped up about it,” Barry said. “I want people to say, ‘The person I didn’t look after is screwing me over in the legislature.’”
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