Students concerned with future tuition increases should join to rally.
For the past several months, The Temple News has reported the possibility the university could lose eight-figures worth of state funding with the turn of a new gubernatorial chapter. Now is the time for students to speak up.
On Tuesday, Feb. 15, Temple Student Government and the Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs will load buses with students and administrators headed to Harrisburg to rally and let legislators hear their message: “We simply can’t afford to lose another dollar from the state.”
Admission onto the buses, which will depart from 13th Street and Montgomery Avenue streets at 8 a.m., is free, and with preparation, students can be excused from classes for the day.
“As Pennsylvania faces daunting financial difficulties, we are asking the entire Temple community to make their voices heard in Harrisburg about the importance of higher education and Temple University,” Ken Lawrence, the senior vice president for government, community and public affairs, previously told The Temple News [“Threats to state funding prompt rally,” Cary Carr, Feb. 1].
The Temple News urges students to take all necessary actions during the next week to make sure they’re aboard that bus.
If the free day off of classes isn’t enough motivation, the numbers should be.
As TSG beat reporter Cary Carr reported last week , the university currently receives $172 million in state funding. As newly elected Gov. Tom Corbett gets to work and attempts to make severe spending cuts in order to balance the state deficit of more than $4 billion, Temple could lose as much as 30 percent of its funding.
That’s a $51.6 million hole in Temple’s pocket – a hole students’ tuition dollars would have to fill.
Temple does not stand alone. Higher education across Pennsylvania could suffer, as all state-related schools would feel the reverberations of the potential cuts.
Representatives from Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University, will join the Rally for Higher Education in the Capitol Rotunda, advocating for state contributions and telling personal stories of how funding affected their college experience.
Students who wish to ride the buses from Main Campus to the rally must register. As of Feb. 7, only approximately 100 students have done so.
Don’t let this event – or your funding – slip through the cracks. For more information and to register, visit https://temple.edu/government/rally.
Be the first to comment