Small Town News

Eastern students protest higher ed cuts, tuition increases

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Eastern Washington University students joined others from around the state in a walk out last Thursday to protest potential financial aid cuts and tuition increases being considered by Washington's Legislature and governor to help erase a $2.6 billion state budget deficit.

An estimated 500 students filled two-thirds of Eastern's central campus mall, waving placards such as "Higher education is basic education," and "Cuts are for nuts," to demonstrate their unhappiness over the state's budget balancing approach. Higher education institutions around the state took big budget hits last year in the state's 2009-11 biennial budget, with Eastern losing $26 million over the two-year period.

To offset those cuts, Eastern eliminated faculty and staff positions, made funding cuts in operations and raised undergraduate student tuition by 14 percent. To combat this year's budget deficit, Gov. Christine Gregoire's initial budget in December proposed cutting Eastern's budget by over $12 million, including eliminating $8,987 million in state financial aid.

"We need to have our governor and our state legislators understand what is at stake here. We need to have them understand that this dis-investment in higher education will no longer be tolerated," EWU faculty organization vice president Dr. Raphael Guillory told the campus mall crowd. "It doesn't take a Ph.D to understand that as you go we go as faculty. So we need you just as much as you need us."

Gregoire's amended budget released last month restored $7,996 million in financial aid, mostly state need grants eliminated in her December proposal. Eastern officials believe, however, that if the Legislature can't pay for it, it will be eliminated, something that would raise the cost of higher education for potentially a third of the university's students. Many of these students are the first in their families to attend college.

"I'm a first generation college student," Rita Amunrud, a non-traditional EWU student in her late 40's said with tears in her eyes. "My father just died and the last thing he said was that he was proud of me because I was at the university. I sure hope I can finish what I started."

"I'm enrolled at Cheney High School," senior Alex Gustafson said. "The reason I'm supporting this is that I don't want this as my budget outlook for college. I want to go to Eastern next year. If tuition keeps going higher, then I'm not really going to have a future at this university."

ASEWU Legislative Affairs Council representative Kris By-rum said Monday they registered about 45 students as new voters at Thursday's rally, more than they expected. According to the Washington News Service, over 8,000 signatures were gathered on petitions across the state by student groups and other organizations, and will be presented to legislators.

Byrum said they have also been trying to maintain a student presence in Olympia. ASEWU took 24 students to the capital Jan. 31-Feb.1 to lobby legislators, meeting with 19 or so lawmakers that Monday. Most of the lawmakers were interested in the students' views, although Byrum said a couple didn't appear quite as supportive. He felt it was "weird" since these individuals were members of the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

"They seemed like they were not interested in students, but in general, it went really well," he added.

Byrum said the students' main message was the need for changes in the state's "cookie cutter" approach to higher ed funding, treating all institutions the same. Instead, each should be viewed as playing different, unique roles and therefore should be treated individually when it comes to funding.

Eastern's uniqueness comes partly through the composition of its student body, and the impacts tuition increases will have on affordability.

"We do serve an under represented population," Byrum said.

Cheney Free Press staff reporter Ryan Lancaster contributed to this story.

John McCallum can be reached at imac@cheneyfreepress.



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© 2010 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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