By Sarah Mcsparin
FRANKFORT – Students from across Kentucky, including the University of Louisville, came together at the state capital to protest the need for more funding in higher education, in the annual Rally for Higher Education on Feb.7. Speakers at the rally affirmed promises for more financial assistance and consideration to state universities when opening the state budget.
This year’s rally faced a low student turnout from most universities, but overall U of L contributed the most student rally participants. The U of L Student Government Association reported that it was only able to assemble around 70 students, despite registration numbers before the rally predicting 150 students would attend. Similarly, the University of Kentucky said that it would bring 50 students but was only able to bring 10 students to yesterday’s rally.
A number of state administrators came out to assist students in appealing to state legislators for more financial assistance in state institutions. Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Ky. Secretary of State Trey Grayson, and Ky. Treasurer Jonathan Miller were among the officials who helped to address students’ demands despite previous actions by some that have led to an increase in tuition and vetoed university projects.
“By having Governor Fletcher there, it escalated the credibility of the event,” said U of L SGA President Darrell Messer, a senior engineering major.
In a speech to students, Fletcher promised that Kentucky was going to take state surplus and spend 25 million dollars additional in tuition assistance in the upcoming year. However, since Fletcher has been in office, funding for capital projects in state institutions has increased 130 percent each year.
“We haven’t done everything we plan to do. Higher education is extremely important for the future of the commonwealth,” said Fletcher.
Miller began his speech declaring that there were three things that had to be done in order to ease the financial burden of college. The first step included guaranteeing that every child born in Kentucky would have a college savings account. And upon the time of enrolling in college, Miller said that the state government would match the amount saved by students.
But Messer pointed to holes in Miller’s proposal. “This sounds like a great idea for people who are middle-class, but it doesn’t address students who aren’t able to save,” said Messer.
Miller said that the second thing would be to have legislation that would prohibit state universities from raising tuition by double digits rates.
And, “the last step is supporting new school politicians, because you’re not the future, you are the present,” said Miller.
Students from U of L who attended the rally with SGA arrived a couple hours early to allow time to meet with their local legislators.
“We gave students time to talk to their legislators one on one, which was not done before previously,” said Messer. “There’s a lot of value in that.”
SGA provided students with informational flyers that showed legislators the unequal funding U of L is receiving in comparison to other state universities.
“We had figures for funding ratios for the various state universities. I personally handed these to legislators and Jonathan Miller said he would be using that,” said Justin Watson, a graduate mechanical engineering student. “Students being here in Frankfort put a face with the problems they are trying to push aside,” said SGA Deputy Chief of Staff Nicole Kersting, a junior political science major.
Read the Feb. 20 issue of The Louisville Cardinal for more coverage of the 2007 Rally for Higher Education.
