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President's Corner: Time to Rally for VSC Funding

By Nick Russo

On February 2, 2012

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Do you feel as though you pay too much for college? If you answered yes, you're not alone. One week from today, we can take an important step toward changing that.

On February 7, there will be a student-led rally at the state house in Montpelier to support increased state funding for the Vermont State Colleges. Vermont funds higher education at the lowest level out of almost all states in the country.

Our state colleges are strapped for money which results in the colleges being forced to raise tuition and fees each year. Tuition is going up 4% for the next two years. State support is going up 0% next year. Last year around this time, we saw what happens when enrollment drops below an acceptable level, resulting in cuts to essential college resources, such as our faculty and staff.

I'm sure many of you are wondering what we, the students, can actually do to change the minds of legislators in Montpelier. We can do more than you think.

Governor Shumlin has proposed a four million dollar investment from the higher education trust fund to the Vermont State Colleges. However, we don't know if his proposal will be approved, and we need to do more to fundamentally change how Montpelier allocates its budget.

Legislators do not interact with VSC students on a regular basis. Many of them know little about our state colleges and the students they serve. But they are interested in your anecdotal stories about how the state colleges have affected your lives, and they want to hear from you. As one of the LSC presidential candidates quickly found out, "Lyndon has a story to tell."

The results of our efforts may not be seen immediately, but your stories about our incredible college will surely stick in their minds for many days and months to come.

So let's do it. A 50 seat bus leaves LSC Tuesday Feb. 7 at 9:00 a.m., please arrive by 8:45 a.m. so we can leave on time. If you have a class, ask your professor if you may be excused on this day. We will return to LSC by 3pm. For a detailed itinerary, to ask questions, and to officially sign up, please email me at Nicholas.russo@lsc.vsc.edu. Thank you, I hope to see you there.