UCC Mainstream Online

Oregon students rally for higher education


Protesting rising tuition rates, Brenna Martin, Sarah Meyer and Charles Martin marched in the Oregon Student Rally for Higher Education April 25 in Salem.
Freddy Gompf / Mainstream
Protesting rising tuition rates, Brenna Martin, Sarah Meyer and Charles Martin marched in the Oregon Student Rally for Higher Education April 25 in Salem.

Over 500 students from community colleges and universities across the state gathered in Salem April 25 for the Oregon Student Rally for Higher Education.  Students representing UCC included ASUCC President Brenna Martin, Vice President Freddy Gompf, Activities Officer Sarah Meyer, Public Relations Officer Karlie Wilhelmi and Charles Martin, enrolled in the Toyota T-Ten Program.

The rally was organized by the Oregon Student Association, a student-led advocacy group that represents the interests of Oregon students in post-secondary education.  “The purpose of the day is to send a message to the legislators that they need to open the door to Oregon’s future by funding financial aid and our college budgets now,” OSA Executive Director Emily McLain said.

Key issues of the rally centered on increasing funding for community colleges and universities.  Students have seen tuition costs rise as funding for higher education has tightened.  The University of Oregon has had the highest increase in the state with tuition rising 85 percent over the last seven years.

The OSA is requesting that state funding for community colleges be raised to $510 million and universities to $850 million.  Although the funding allocation has not yet been determined, UCC’s budget draft for 2013-14 was prepared with a conservative estimate of $410 million for state funding for community colleges.  This is considerably less than what the OSA has determined is needed to keep tuition increases under five percent.

Currently, UCC is proposing a tuition increase of $10 per credit.  The school board will make the final decision on the proposed increase on May 8.  Should the increase be approved, it will take effect as soon as summer term begins.

The OSA is also requesting a $15 million increase in the Oregon Opportunity Grant which would bring the total OOG budget to $115 million.  “A $15 million increase would mean awards for 7,000 additional students,” said Victory Redmond, OSU director of government affairs and OSA organizer.

Additionally, the OSA is requesting an increase of $277,000 for the Student Parent Childcare Fund.  “One of the most important issues facing students is child care,” Redmond said.  Debt loads for students with children increase significantly when faced with the cost of child care.    

Students spent the majority of the morning meeting with legislators and/or their staff.  OSA organizers provided students with some advice on how to communicate with legislators.  “The most important thing you can do is tell your story.  Everyone has a story,” said Emma Kalloway, OSA legislative director.

ASUCC Vice President Freddy Gompf speaks with Oregon State Representative Tim Freeman, House District 2, as part of lobbying efforts to raise funding for post-secondary eduation.
Photo provided by Amber Hastings
ASUCC Vice President Freddy Gompf speaks with Oregon State Representative Tim Freeman, House District 2, as part of lobbying efforts to raise funding for post-secondary eduation.

For Gompf and Meyer, the process of lobbying is a familiar one.  It was Gompf’s fifth time meeting with legislators and Meyer’s third.  “These opportunities to lobby have shown me the amount of access that people have to their state legislators and how much of an impact we can all have on policy within our state,” Gompf said.

First-time lobbyist Charles Martin also found himself at ease with the process.  “I always thought that speaking with our legislators was harder than what I experienced.  As it turned out, I felt really comfortable and was at home speaking to others about political issues,” Martin added, “The experience has motivated me to become a part of student government.” He is now running for UCC vice-president for next year (replacing Gompf).

Students then gathered at the First Congregational Church of Christ in preparation for the march to the Capitol.  Many students wore red shirts and carried yellow balloons labeled with their student loan debt amounts.  “Education is not a debt sentence” and “Fund our future” were messages captured on signs.  Some students carried doors painted in their school colors to signify the opening of doors to opportunity.

“Hey hey, ho ho, these budget cuts have got to go” and “Give us more for higher ed, so we don’t pay loans until we’re dead” were the rally cries of the marchers.  Chanting and whistles could be heard for blocks as the students made their way to the Capitol.

The march culminated on the steps of the Capitol.  Students and lawmakers addressed the crowd.  SOU student Tommy Letchworth spoke of education’s benefits to society.  “Having a well-educated populous free of copious amounts of debt benefits our society in numeral ways.  It brings down the costs of public safety by reducing crime and it frees up revenue at the individual level so that it can be reinvested back into our local economy.”  

House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, also spoke saying the city leaders she’s talked to have indicated, “it’s important to have a trained work force, it’s important for jobs and it’s important for the future of our state.”

Kotek emphasized the tough choices the legislature has to make this session.  “We have to fund essential services and all of them are important and those are the sorts of challenges we have here, but among all these difficult choices and concerns and needs, the one thing we’re doing this session is prioritizing education.”

Included in the day’s activities was UCC’s mascot, the River hawk, who took to the stage and helped lead the crowd in a group wave.

Regarding the turnout, Redmond said, “I thought the rally went really well.  Having talked with legislators previously, a rally of students outside the Capitol is exactly what they said we needed to prioritize funding for higher education.”

In a voice now barely audible, Redmond added, “If students want legislators to take prioritizing education seriously, then students need to get out and protest and demand that education be prioritized.”

Editor’s note:

Reporter Cindy McSperitt walked with the marchers on their way to the Capitol. A photogragh was provided by Freddy Gompf who is ASUCC Vice President and on The Mainstrem staff.