I like seeing so many college students rallying, protesting and volunteering for politicians in the news recently. They’re passionate, but not necessarily about Arizona’s failure to support the universities or America’s failure to effectively invest in our future, instead overwhelmingly concerned about events such as the passage of the new health care bill. Though these other issues are also important, I find it odd that students are not angry about the one issue that should unify us all at ASU: the record-low funding for our education.
If I asked you which body has the most control over the price you pay for tuition or even the ease of which you can transfer credits to ASU from community college, how would you answer? Would you say ASU administration or Congress? The right answer would be the Arizona State Legislature. Last year it voted to bring Proposition 100 to the ballot and voters passed it overwhelmingly, saving ASU from almost $40 million in cuts. But the legislators also have the power to sweep this funding for other pursuits when they come back to work in January.
If I asked you who had the most control over how the state Legislature votes, how would you answer? Hopefully you would say “me,” but if you are like most students, you aren’t taking advantage of this power. As a page in the state Senate last spring, I saw very few constituents visiting each of the senators, most of whom were retirees. I don’t recall seeing a single student. Last Tuesday’s primary elections had an average voter turnout of only about one-fourth of the population, and if history can predict anything, it will show that students voted in much smaller numbers.
We have to take advantage of our power now. If we don’t, we’ll lose the few friends we have at the Capitol. Democrats are on the hot seat this year, but even if they keep their current numbers, they are too few to singlehandedly pass bills. Some Republican state legislators have a solid record supporting the universities, but many of those who supported bills that helped students in the most recent legislative session are retiring or were defeated last Tuesday. Seven of the 10 Republican candidates who were labeled “pro-education” by the Arizona Education Association were knocked out in the primaries.
If you want your state Legislature to vote in favor of you, do your part and vote in favor of your district’s pro-education candidates. If you register anywhere in Maricopa County, then you can use the early polling location at the ASU Tempe campus any weekday for about three weeks in October without having to wait in lines or show ID. Until then, do your research by reading candidate profiles, such as the ones published online by the Arizona Republic.
You don’t have to follow my advice, but if you decide against it, don’t be surprised if the State Legislature drastically cuts its support of higher education. If you fail to make your needs heard, we will all pay a heavy price. Every semester.
Email Veekas at veekas@asu.edu.
