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Printer-Friendly ModeStudents ask: ‘WTF?!’
March 28, 2011 —
With the largest delegation in attendance, 91 SVSU students protested proposed higher education cuts Friday afternoon on the Capitol lawn in Lansing.
With Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget calling for at least a 20 percent cut to public universities, the Student Association of Michigan organized the event to draw attention to the negative effects of the cuts.
Estimates of total students in attendance from the 15 public universities were between 200 and 300.
Julie Boon, Student Association (SA) president and political science and history junior, said that an aggressive marketing campaign generated student interest.
“We wanted students to know how much this was really going to affect them, and how much they’re going to have to make up for the lack of funding for next year,” she said.
The campaign included mass e-mails to students, window paintings, posters, signs hanging from ceilings and visits to individual classes.
Jeremy Jones, SA representative and secondary education senior, said that the “WTF?!” slogan was one of the biggest attention getters.
The slogan, which stands for “Where’s The Funding,” was designed by the United States Student Association (USSA) and showed up on numerous signs and T-shirts.
Blake Allen, a secondary education and international studies sophomore, said that he heard Boon talk about the potential cuts. He said that he wanted to take action when he realized that the cuts would mean more than $1,000 of his aid would disappear.
“I felt that someone needed to speak for SVSU,” he said. “Someone needed to tell the governor that enough was enough.”
He added that nearly all of his education is paid for by state financial aid.
Criminal justice sophomore Lacee Hammons said that she learned about the rally from ads in front of the RFoC. She went because of the struggles she already has paying tuition.
“I come from a low income family,” she said. “I completely rely on all of the money the government gives me. Other than that, the rest I rely on is loans.”
She said that she is considering transferring to a community college near her home to save money if the cuts occur.
“After two years of college, I am already in debt way above my head,” she said.
Students spent time with legislators during the protest. State Senate minority leader Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Joan Bauer and Virg Bernero, Lansing mayor and former candidate for governor, spoke in support of students at the rally.
Jones said that a group of SVSU students went to the office of Sen. Roger Kahn, who was unavailable to meet with them. The group left him a petition with 200 signatures protesting the cuts.
Boon, Jones and communication sophomore Devon Perdue spoke on behalf of SVSU at the rally.
With the protests on the Capitol lawn over, Jones said that SA plans to keep in contact with state representatives and senators to voice opposition to the cuts. He said he hopes the efforts will help legislators realize that “Michigan has to reinvest in education.”
Boon said that the group is also looking to set up meetings with legislators in Lansing.
Allen and Hammons said that they will continue to stay involved in protesting the cuts.
“Anything that I can be at or help with, I will,” Hammons said. “They can’t take any more money from us.”