Each semester, The State Press editorial board has the opportunity to meet with ASU President Michael Crow to ask him questions about pressing issues on ASU's campuses. It’s a round table meeting, where our editors and Crow have an open conversation with a shared goal of understanding why certain procedures, events and practices are occurring at ASU.
This semester, questions covered topics ranging from the University’s position in the Valley to the future of the ASU men’s hockey team. However, when faced with the question of what the biggest issue facing the University in the future would be, Crow focused more on how it is viewed on a national level rather than highlighting issues that trouble the students attending ASU. Here, the editorial board lists issues that may need more attention on the home front rather than focusing on our image at a national level.
1.Tuition
Earlier this year, Crow promised that in-state tuition would not rise. “There will be no in-state tuition increase for in-state students, graduate or undergraduate, at Arizona State University. Period,” he said. But following larger-than-expected budget cuts, Crow said the University is still aiming on keeping tuition increases to a minimum. Tuition will likely increase over the next few years for all students — and that’s just a harsh reality we’ve been handed thanks to Gov. Doug Ducey’s proposed budget cuts.
When Crow came to ASU, he made a commitment to create a competitive university that would receive national attention for its programs. He’s done just that, running the University like a business while receiving sparse funding from the state. Despite low funding and minimal cooperation from the Arizona Legislature, ASU has flourished, and Crow's goal of national recognition has been surpassed. In return, rather than committing to higher education, the state Legislature has eviscerated universities by slashing $99 million from their budgets.
2. Student Loan Debt
Another concern for students and educators has been the role the 13 percent budget cuts will have on student loan debt. Currently, Arizonans owe more than $22.6 billion in federal student loans.
Drastic slashes to the universities' budget likely mean that universities will not be able to provide as many scholarship opportunities to students who require aid. This means that relief will not be coming to students any time soon despite President Obama signing the “student bill of rights” last month.
One of Crow's goals is to keep ASU as affordable as possible for in-state students, while creating a university that has a competitive price tag to appease out-of-state students. With less opportunity for scholarships and grants, students may not be so keen to jump on attending ASU, or will not be able to attend at.
3. Sexual Assault
In response to the investigations of Title IX violations, ASU implemented a sexual assault task force, part of which included a “Consent and Respect” course. The point of the online course is to create a "community of care,” Jennifer Hightower, deputy vice president of student services, told The State Press during an earlier interview. Hightower also stressed that the course taught that “there is a sense of responsibility for ourselves as well as for others in this community.”
According to an email sent to The State Press by Kevin Galvin, vice president of media relations and strategic communications, approximately 33,900 students of the 71,000 students required to take the course have done so. If the course is not completed, the University threatened that students will not be able to register for fall 2015 classes.
It is unclear how this course is going to aid the elimination of sexual assault on campus, which is still a glaring issue throughout ASU student culture.
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