As you may be aware, the Washington State budget is bleeding from all orifices due to the economic meltdown. The two most concerning issues for this UW student are 1) the frquency of which the phrase “economic meltdown” is used around me and 2) budget cuts to higher education.
ASUW President, Madeleine McKenna says a recent proposal to move $5.6 million of our UW tuition dollars to pay for cuts that the state made to financial aid programs “is a fundamental violation of the trust we have placed in our legislature.” Our tuition dollars should go toward funding the support services we use, the classrooms, and the faculty-not for the state to use to backfill its fiscal obligations that it has failed to meet.
McKenna and the rest of ASUW are specifically asking students to call, write, email their legislators to express their concern over the recent Senate Ways and Means decision to use tuition to backfill other cuts in the state budget. They even made a handy dandy template to make hollering at your legislator that much easier:
“Dear [legislator],My name is [name] and I am a student at the University of Washington. I am writing to express my opposition to the recent Senate Ways and Means decision to use our student tuition dollars to backfill cuts made by the state to other programs.I paid my tuition for the expressed purpose of funding my education, not for the state to use to fulfill fiscal obligations it has failed to meet. Tuition has always rightly gone to funding the support services I use, the classrooms I learn in and the faculty who teach me. It is unprecedented for the state to use money I have spent for my education on filling state funds, and violates the fundamental trust between students and our government.This is a highly inappropriate policy choice even considering the tough economic and budget situation. I strongly urge you to reconsider these decisions and to refuse to consider them as we move on to the biennial budget.Sincerely,[name]”
Not sure who your legislator is? Use this tool to figure it out and get to calling/writing/emailing, dawg!