In a year with few state dollars to spread around, student leaders are planning a rally to tell lawmakers not to neglect the state’s colleges and universities.
The state’s $200 million tax revenue shortfall forced lawmakers to spend the past two weeks behind closed doors re-writing this year’s budget. On Monday, legislators began looking at and preparing for the 2002-2003 fiscal year budget.
“This year is a critical year,” said Ben Lowe, student body president. “Higher education needs and deserves state funding. Tough decisions are going to be made in the next few weeks that will affect the quality of our education. Legislators need to understand that students are interested in higher education and students are interested in knowing what their legislators are doing for higher education.”
The rally is scheduled for noon Wednesday. Shuttle buses rented by the Associated Students of the University of Utah will leave at 11:30 a.m. from the Union and the Latter-day Saints Institute or Religion.
Lowe said that students from every state college will attend the rally.
Utah Student Association President Steve Palmer has invited many legislators, and members of the state Board of Regents to join the students on the steps of the Capitol.
When lawmakers announced the shortfall, state colleges and universities scrambled to cut $23.5 million.
The U reacted by instituting a hiring freeze and across-the board budget cuts to all departments and offices. Administrators also speak freely about possible enrollment caps which would raise the admission standards and decrease the number of students accepted at the U each year.
U President Bernie Machen said in a previous interview that he doubts there will be extra money for next year to relieve the tight economic strain. To help compensate for the budget woes, Machen plans to create funds by imposing a “big” tuition increase.
Lowe said this kind of thinking worries him, but many college presidents have adopted Machen’s idea.
ASUU representatives will pass out flyers Tuesday and Wednesday informing students of the rally, “letting them know what is going on and why it is important to attend.”
Candidates for the upcoming ASUU elections are encouraged to attend. The party with the most candidates in attendance will receive a thank you from ASUU in the form of a paid advertisement in The Chronicle.
“Because these issues have a very dramatic impact on the students next year, the candidates need to be there and they need to be interested in what is going on,” Lowe said.
“We hope that students will come and take an active interest in there school and in the future of the state. We need to be sure that education in general, and specifically higher education gets a big portion of the pie; including financial aid and tuition,” Lowe said.