Posted by

Marching for a Better Future

One of the joys of being a grad student is all the free events and opportunities available. One of my classmates recommended applying to attend the Student Lobby Conference in Sacramento. Free transportation, lodging, and food...I couldn't resist. My classmate and I were both selected to attend on behalf of graduate students at UCSB.

I thought the weekend would be a great chance to meet fellow UC students and learn more about lobbying, but I was in for a pleasant surprise in how much I learned throughout the conference. The conference consisted of over 400 students from all of the UC's, except UC Davis, with UC Irvine having the largest representation. We had a jam-packed weekend that started each morning at 10am and finished late in the evening. I learned about higher education policy, lobbying techniques, the process of getting a bill passed into law, the State government crisis, and how the UC Student Association is taking action to counteract the rising tuition and fees in higher education.

Here are some important highlights from the weekend:
  • Undergraduate student fees have increased 145% for UC students and 191% for CSU students since 2003.
  • In 2003, undergraduate tuition at UC Davis was less than $5,000 a year and it is currently  $12,192 a year.
  • Graduate student fees have increased 200% since 2001.
  • The Governor's recent budget proposal allows for an additional $200 million in trigger cuts for higher education that can be made at anytime and he plans to raise the GPA requirement for Cal Grant recipients to weed out individuals who are less likely to graduate from college (there is no research to support this claim).
  • Prop 13 caps property taxes (for individuals and companies) at 1970's levels so corporations with large buildings continue to pay a minimal percentage of what they actually should for taxes.
The Good News:
  • The Middle Class Scholarship Bill aims to close a corporate tax loophole and will cut undergraduate student fees by 2/3.
  • Governor Brown has two tax initiatives on the November 2012 ballot that are specifically geared toward raising funding for K-12 and higher education.
  • Another ballot measure is set to reform the 3 strikes law and this could lead to less prisoners and more funding on education than incarceration.
On Monday, March 5th we were joined by over 10,000 CSU and community college students, staff, faculty, and local community members in a march to the State Capitol building to demand funding for higher education. There's nothing more powerful than a united group of individuals that want a better future. 

Here are my two blog posts about the weekend:
We capped our weekend by lobbying elected officials in the capital. I was in a group with three undergraduate students who did an excellent job of sharing their testimonies and speaking with Assembly Member Jerry's Hill's aide. We even ran into Assembly Member Jerry Hill as we were leaving and he was very appreciative of our visit and supports our campaigns. 

So, for those of you in California, keep an eye out for the tax initiatives that support K-12 and higher education on the November ballot (Governor Brown is banking on these initiatives to pass, otherwise, the schools will lose serious funding). 

As for me, I have a new found interest in government, but I will leave the policy making and politics to those who like to swim with sharks ;)

Comments

RC said…
Swim with sharks!! :) Great post, thank you TT!
March 9, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Post a Comment