USAC town hall addresses price of higher education
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 2, 2010 2:10 a.m.
SUBMITTED BY: Steven Quan
On Jan. 23, the undergraduate student government invited state Assembly members to a town hall meeting to discuss strategies to preserve the quality and affordability of higher education. The town hall served as a follow-up to the student protests at the November UC Board of Regents meeting, as well as the preliminary “walk-outs” performed on the first day of school.
The forum provided an opportunity for students and faculty to address state officials responsible for the 32 percent fee hike. It was also a space for the local community to voice its opinion in a way that localizes the consequences of such legislative decisions. Most importantly, “it is our hope that the dialogue produced on Saturday will urge state officials to reassess the value of higher education,” stated Cinthia Flores, the student body president.
And indeed, California State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, among other key players in attendance, pledged her support at Moore Hall that Saturday afternoon. In fact, Bass had expressed her appreciation for organizations such as Undergraduate Student Association Council, reasoning that if it were not for their massive mobilization efforts protesting the budget cuts, legislators and officials (including the UC Regents) would not have considered “softening the blow.”
The vast media coverage of one such effort ““ the animated rally during the UC Regents’ meeting in November ““ brought national attention to what seems like the culmination of a desperate struggle of a people facing economic hardship. And yet this struggle is far from over.
Also in attendance at the town hall was Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, chair of the Joint Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education (a set of principles created in 1960 intended to maintain the quality of public education with increasing demand within the state). In his address to the audience, Ruskin declared that his committee would evaluate how well state measures satisfy the provisions of the Master Plan to ensure the best quality of education possible.
Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, as sponsor of AB 656, discussed his objective to raise $1 billion for public colleges. In an effort to recommit California to investing in higher education, Torrico emphasized the need to have a severance tax on oil that would produce revenue for public universities.
Additionally, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley gave her general support for prioritization of higher education in the state budget. She, too, said that the active engagement of UC students in response to budget cuts has reinforced the importance of supporting the UC system as a major constituency statewide.
Leaders of USAC have initiated actions like this town hall as steps in a process ““ a process that demonstrates the widespread discontent with the executive measures taken undermining the value of our education and employment. USAC has made significant efforts to promote student engagement in a process that would re-establish the importance of funding for education statewide.
Specifically, the USAC President’s Office has sought to promote communication between the administration and students regarding the latest consequences of the budget crisis. In addition to the aforementioned events, the office staff has dedicated its resources to many other campus initiatives.
Presently, the USAC President’s Office is collaborating with the External Vice President’s Office to call Speaker-elect John Pérez to an upcoming press conference as further course of action in defending the quality of our education.
We challenge you to invest in this process, too. While on stage, Karen Bass encouraged us to continue to fight, for legislators have reconsidered their decisions to adjust to our protest. So a fight we will give them.
Quan is the Public Affairs Director the USAC President’s Office.
