Students to march to Capitol to speak against proposed cuts

By Katie Leslie and Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia's college students are tired of being stuck in the middle.

Since learning that hundreds of millions of dollars could be slashed from the state's higher education budget, students have formed activist groups to educate their peers and lobby for change. They've conference-called with like minds about strategies for communicating with their representatives. And in this modern movement, they've used the Internet to build support and learn more about the possible cuts.

"The Internet has played a very big role in this," says Will Avery, a 29-year-old research assistant and graduate student at the University of West Georgia. "You can find anything on Facebook."

Students, whose efforts have been building for weeks, will march to the Capitol on Monday morning to make sure lawmakers get a clear picture of whose futures are at stake.

“We want them to see a student’s face when they think about these cuts,” said Katie Barlow, president of the University of Georgia Student Government Association. “There’s been a lot of talk between the legislators and the system and the colleges, but they haven’t heard from us."

At the bleakest hour, it looked like the cuts to the University System of Georgia might total $600 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1, a number that lawmakers have since said will likely be "significantly less."

David Bachman, a junior at the University of West Georgia, said students worry they are pawns in a battle between the Legislature and the University System, which oversees the 35 public colleges and universities.

“It’s like they’re trying to flex their muscles to see who is more powerful," said Bachman, 21, who plans to attend the rally with three busloads of students from his school. "Meanwhile, they’re putting us in jeopardy.”

That feeling of jeopardy manifests itself in many ways.

Georgia State University sophomore Kimberly Joyner, 22, fears the cuts will mean she can't afford campus housing and that with reduced faculty, she won't be able to graduate as planned in two years.

Whitney Bova, a 22-year-old junior at the Medical College of Georgia, waits to see if her nursing program will be eliminated.

And for Avery, proposed reductions could mean he loses funding for his teaching position.

No one knows how many students will march from Hurt Park in downtown Atlanta on Monday, though it's rumored to be in the thousands.

Barlow said some student leaders plan to meet with Appropriations Committee members to plead with them to spare drastic cuts to the schools.

Two prominent groups from Georgia's student body plan to march Monday: the University System of Georgia Students for Quality Education, mostly led by student body presidents; and the Georgia Students for Public Higher Education, which first began at Georgia State University last fall after the state Board of Regents voted to hike a special fee. Now the group, which Avery describes as a grass-roots campaign representing students, faculty and campus workers, includes people from several schools.

Student government leaders representing half of Georgia's public colleges met at Georgia Tech on March 6 to map out a strategy. A smaller group of students met at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro the same day.

The students discussed practical issues, such as whether to use MARTA and who should make the signs. They decided to wear school colors and related attire, save for the students planning to meet with lawmakers. They talked about tactics, such as whether phone calls and faxes to their representatives are better than e-mail.

The USG Students for Quality Education have since created a video on Facebook giving guidance on how to rally, what to wear, appropriate signage and how to speak with the media.

Joanna Gwin, a student leader from the Medical College of Georgia, questioned whether they should label Monday's event a protest. (The students decided to call it a rally.)

“It has a negative connotation,” Gwin said. “We want to be professional. We don’t want people thinking about images from California.”

California's colleges have faced severe tuition increases, increased class sizes and program eliminations as the state battles a $20 billion budget deficit. Students have held large protests and stormed the offices of the chancellor and other top administrators and lawmakers.

Georgia students have endured their share of challenges. Over the past few years, class sizes grew as colleges couldn't hire additional faculty to meet the needs of growing enrollment. Some students have struggled to take all of their required courses in four years as available courses shrank. Campuses have seen several furlough days, and students had to pay twice as much in a special fee, ranging from $100 to $200 a semester depending on the school.

Further, the state Board of Regents voted last April to end the popular fixed-for-four program, which guaranteed incoming freshmen the same tuition cost for four years. At the time, the regents said they would honor the program for students who enrolled while the policy was in effect, but this year’s freshmen and future students won’t have the same benefit.

Some students, such as those in the Georgia Students for Public Higher Education, are railing against any proposed cuts, while others say they understand any tuition hikes provided college students are not "disproportionately burdened." All say they want lawmakers to find alternative revenue sources, such as a higher tax on cigarettes.

Despite the frustration, the students look to hold a peaceful demonstration Monday that they hope will open a dialogue with lawmakers.

“We don’t want to fight it or bash the House and Senate," said Jay Patel, a 22-year-old senior and student senator at Georgia Gwinnett College. "We want to come to a compromise, but we want them to realize you can’t play games with us."

Bachman, a mass communications major and former chair of UWG’s chapter of the College Republicans, said chapters across the state will participate in Monday’s rally. Their involvement has surprised some people since many of the key lawmakers are Republicans, Bachman said. He and his classmates held their own rally on the Carrollton campus Thursday.

“I’m not marching against my own party; I just think these cuts are wrong,” Bachman said.

He worries about how many more expenses he and his mom can cut to pay for increases in tuition and fees.

“It’ll be tough, but I can’t afford not to afford it,” Bachman said. “Everyone needs a college education to be competitive in the world today.”

For more information

USG Students for Quality Education: www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/USGStudents?ref=mf

Georgia Students for Public Higher Education: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=215693188744

For the rally (you have to log in to Facebook to access this page): www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=333077581740&ref=ts