By
Sepideh Behzadpour
February 8, 2010
Photo by Jennifer Malone.
UW students rally on the steps of the Capitol building to advocate for higher education.
“No more cuts” was the rally chant shouted as a group of UW Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell students gathered on the Capitol steps Friday afternoon to protest further cuts to higher-education funding.
UW student-government members from all three campuses spoke at the rally, motivating participants to share their stories with legislators they met with.
Sen. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor), a speaker at the rally, was introduced by UW Student Regent Ben Golden as “a great friend of higher education in the UW.”
Kilmer, chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, said he wants to see a better future for his kids and for current higher-education students, too.
“I look at education as the door to opportunity, the door to a brighter future and to a better job,” Kilmer said. “ … We need to continue to have the voice of students at the table. We need your voices … . We need to keep our promises.”
Kilmer received a positive response when he asked students, “Will you join me in fighting to make sure that Washington state upholds its promises to its students?”
For Evan Smith, a freshman in attendance, the issue goes beyond simple dollars and cents.
“The students of UW want transparency,” Smith said. “We aren’t asking for lower tuition, but we want to be involved in the process. We advocate for predictability so no student has to worry about their education in the future.”
Jono Hanks, director of the ASUW Office of Government Relations, called upon students to tell their stories and share their opinions when they met with legislators.
“This is about your future,” Hanks said. “If they don’t fund the UW, if they don’t fund your education, they’re not funding those jobs; they’re not funding that innovation.”
With the theme of sharing personal stories, UW junior Yunhee Choi, a Husky Promise recipient who qualifies for State Work Study, said she won’t be able to finish her bachelor’s degree in social welfare or be able to get her master’s in social work if state funding were cut.
If further cuts are implemented, Choi said, “My life is over.”
Sen. Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup), vice-chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, also spoke at the rally.
“You have been the biggest advocates for higher education in Olympia,” he said. “You showing up here today is part of that, but also coming up during the hearings, testifying … [Those student representatives] have been your voice, and they have done a great job.”
Other student leaders, such as the ASUW Bothell and Tacoma presidents, also spoke.
“Applied knowledge is power, and when we combine it and unite as one, we are the most powerful,” said ASUW Tacoma President Cruz Credle.
During the rally, students signed a petition prepared by the American Federation of Teachers and the Washington Student Association that asks legislators to stop all state-funding cuts to education. Students delivered the petition, with about 8,000 signatures, after the rally to the offices of Gov. Chris Gregoire; Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-Renton), chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee; and Rep. Kelli Linville (D-Bellingham), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Freshman Katie Bass said she felt the rally overall was a success.
“The rally was a fantastic show of solidarity between the numerous groups [students from all three campuses, graduate students and professional staff] that any further cuts would affect,” she said.
Reach contributing writer Sepideh Behzadpour at news@dailyuw.com.
12 Comments
#1 Ariel W.
on February 8, 2010 at 7:52 a.m.(Seattle, WA | UW Community)
Kilmer is trying to give UW tuition setting authority: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html... UW will basically be able to keep raising tuition 9% a year until 2018.
Maybe Kilmer is a friend to the board of regents, but I don't see how continuing to raise tuition benefits students. AWUW, I am unhappy that you're treating the budget cuts as inevitable.
#2 Jono Hanks
on February 8, 2010 at 12:28 p.m.(Olympia, WA | Unverified Name | UW Community)
It is true that Senator Kilmer is sponsoring a bill that grants the Regents tuition setting authority, and the ASUW opposes that bill as it currently reads because it eliminates legislative oversight and does not have enough student input in the process. We are working with the Administration to amend in legislative oversight and student voices, to make temper the local tuition setting authority with real protections for the students.
As for cuts, they are inevitable. The budget has a $2.6 Billion dollar hole in it that must be filled with a combination of cuts, closed loopholes, and new revenue. As the ASUW, we are pushing for new revenue. As the ASUW, we are pushing that loopholes be closed. As the ASUW, we are pushing that any cuts made should be proportionate to the schools being cut, and that they should make sense.
I have said to many legislators down here in Olympia that if they are going to allow tuition to go up, and if they are going to continue cutting our university's budget tearing down the quality of our education, they are not serving the students or the citizens of our state.
We're making the point that if they keep treating higher education as a rainy day fund, we'll eventually dry up. We will not be able to produce quality graduates, and our economy will continue to languish.
#3 lick it up
on February 8, 2010 at 12:56 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name | UW Community)
Wow, almost thrity people showed up to the rally, 20 more and they may be able to rent out a Burger King. This fight is pointless. Tuition will continue to rise no matter what you do. It is your choice to attend the UW, not the UW's choice to have you apply.
#4 Joe D.
on February 8, 2010 at 4:35 p.m.(Location Unknown | UW Community)
The line staff of the UW are on the side of the students in this fight. We see you being cheated out of a proper education in a clean and well operated institution. We see over a Billion dollars in non earmarked endowment monies going to pet projects and people/groups while others are ignored.
We fell cuts need to made as far from class rooms and clinics as possible-that means associate VP's who don't teach or care for patients. It directors, Assistant Directors, Program managers,Program coordinators etc. It does not mean your TA's or the folks who clean and repair your buildings. It odes not mean the people you need to talk to fix glitches in transcripts or fees.
On Presidents day over 100 of us from UW and Seattle Community Colleges are busing to Olympia (yes they work on that day)-we will be joined by staff from every two and four public school in the state plus all state agencies. You will be heard and we will remind the folks in Olympia that your UW president PROMISED them ADMINISTRATIVE cuts.
#5 Jake
on February 8, 2010 at 5:19 p.m.(Seattle, WA | Unverified Name | UW Community)
@3: Actually, the Seattle times estimated that there were roughly 400 students there. Glad you see that you're not just apathetic . . . but also an idiot.
#6 Matt from Democracy Insurgent
on February 8, 2010 at 7:25 p.m.(Renton, WA | Unverified Name)
Jono, what will it take for the state to plug the budget holes with "new revenue" (meaning taxing the rich) as opposed to cuts? In my mind, it will take rallies like this but also a whole lot more. It will be easier for the legislators to simply cut our education rather than raise taxes on the incomes of their campaign donors. So in my mind that leads to only one conclusion... to stop these cuts we need mass, democratic, aggressive action that goes far beyond rallies if we want to get their attention. That's why the Student Worker Coalition is calling for a student strike at UW Seattle on March 4th as part of the National Day of Action to defend Public Education. It will be at 1 PM on the Quad.
There will possibly be student strikes at other campuses in WA state on that day as well, organized by some of the same folks who organized campus walkouts on Fri. Will ASUW support this strike action? If you really want to win this fight then I hope you will.
I also encourage UW students to keep the struggle up by attending the union rallies that Joe D mentioned in Olympia on the 15th. Students and workers need to unite and fight together if we want to stop these cuts! This will be a good opportunity for students to meet the folks who are fighting to make sure your classrooms aren't dirty and your sections don't have 75 students per TA. Custodians have been fighting for you for the past 9 months - you should reciprocate that if you haven't already.
#7 Matt from Democracy Insurgent
on February 8, 2010 at 7:28 p.m.(Renton, WA | Unverified Name)
here is the facebook page for the student strike on March 4th. Please invite your friends!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid...
#8 Matt from Democracy Insurgent
on February 8, 2010 at 8:58 p.m.(Renton, WA | Unverified Name)
On the Kilmer Bill.... if the Board of Regents gets tuition setting authority with a "cap" and "oversight", how can we be sure those caps and oversight won't be taken away down the road? If UW has trouble attracting investment for new research how can we be sure that the unelected Regents won't continuously raise tuition to make sure they get good bond ratings by guaranteeing their creditors a consistent income stream? How can we be sure that they won't use students to raise collateral for capital projects like the University of California is doing? In other words, if they have tuition setting authority they could basically take student's tuition and give it to wall street bankers in exchange for the loans necessary to build new buildings to house corporate-oriented research.
If this is the financial model that the UW is moving towards than "non-profitable" departments like American Ethnic Studies could easily be cut down the road. And any students who can't pay that higher tuition could be pushed out of the university until it becomes a country club for rich white kids. All of the struggles oppressed people waged on this campus to make it accessible to their communities would then need to started all over again!
The only way to stop that scenario is through long-term campaigns of aggressive mass protest like they're doing down in California. Rather than compromising with congressman Kilmer we need to fight for a complete freeze on tuition hikes - period.
#9 Ariel W.
on February 8, 2010 at 9:04 p.m.(Seattle, WA | UW Community)
I agree with Matt that the cuts aren't inevitable. But preventing them (and reclaiming funding that was lost) will take larger charges in our state, like changing our tax structure to a progressive income tax, which will generate more revenue instead of making workers & students bear the worst of the cuts.
#10 Think about it
on February 8, 2010 at 9:18 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name | UW Community)
Those of you proposing changing WA State entire tax structure, have you thought about what a massive and drastic proposal that is, and the potential impact it might have. Here are a few things to think about.
-State income taxes require a huge bureaucracy, which costs money and requires a bit of training and a bit of time to set up. It is not going to happen this legislative session.
-A progressive tax system will probably cause some of our richer state residents and businesses to leave. I just read an article about how NJ tax system has caused the state to loose quite a few millionaires this year.
-Just because a new tax system is implemented doesn't mean the money will go to UW. Remember, only 40k people go to UW, and many are either out of state, or don't have their voting records in this district. Thus being spread so thin, it become quite difficult to get a legislator to do much.
-Is raising taxes during an economic downturn really that great of an idea?
-What's worse, children losing health care or a few thousand UW students having to take out a bit more money in student loans to pay for their education?
Just a few quick thoughts.
#11 Matt from Democracy Insurgent
on February 9, 2010 at 1:43 p.m.(Renton, WA | Unverified Name)
In response to "Think about it":
1) State income taxes only require a huge bureaucracy when they are saddled with loopholes that help campaign contributors get out of paying them. What can be more simple than saying that those who make more money should pay a higher percentage of their income to taxes? Believe me if the legislators were met with general strikes and hundreds of thousands of people in the streets they would figure out how to set up a progressive tax system as fast as possible.
2) I don't care if a handful of millionaires leave with their fancy Washington Mutual golden parchutes- they are parasitic on the economy anyway and the number of jobs created through a fully functioning public education system would far outweigh the jobs the created by a few rich people buying luxury goods.
Actual corporations with real capital are of course another story. Yes Boeing could leave. But what Boeing is not telling you is that it is incredibly expensive to simply up and move the largest building in the world from their Everrett plant to the US South. While they take a decade or more to do that, we need to start teaming up with Boeing workers to make sure that if the company tries to do that they will face strikes, occupations, etc. And we also need to start supporting labor organizing efforts in the South that can drive up wages there (among Latino immigrants AND unemployed Black and white folks). This will stop the race to the bottom. When these struggles break out we need to link our campus struggles here to their efforts just like the Free Speech movement of the 1960s at UC Berkley linked up with the Civil Rights struggles in the South.
3) I'm not just saying that all the money should go to UW, though some of it should. Our fight is not just for UW, it is for public education in general, and for all other services people need to survive. I am not for children loosing healthcare. In fact, the Student-Worker Coalition's plan is to link up with folks who are fighting cuts to Basic Health care, K-12 education, housing, etc. so we can support each other's efforts. I am a high school teacher in a low income school and I am involved in this struggle at UW because I see the workers and students there creating innovate ways of fighting back against budget cuts that will eventually benefit all working people in this state if we can all work together.
#12 Kuzma
on February 10, 2010 at 11:35 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name | UW Community)
Democracy Insurgent represents the worst, most idiotic liberal ideas I've ever heard. I don't even want to take the time to argue. I mean, holy shit. You're pretty much communists.
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