SBP, Others Fight New Tuition Plan

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As the N.C. General Assembly's deadline for passing a continuing budget resolution that included a tuition increase drew near, student leaders worked against the clock Wednesday to get their message to legislators.

Although Student Body President Justin Young and UNC Association of Student Governments President Andrew Payne said they are frustrated by the budget-making process, they said they spent Wednesday trying to make their opinion known before the legislature voted.

Neither Payne nor Young went to Raleigh on Wednesday night, but Young spent the day e-mailing and calling legislators to express his opinion.

"I've been trying to send e-mails, trying to talk to people, trying to make phone calls, but it seems like nothing works and nobody's listening," he said.

The General Assembly passed a 9 percent across-the-board tuition increase for all UNC-system students Wednesday night, voting down a continuing budget resolution proposed by the N.C. House on Tuesday that included an amendment that would have put the entire burden of the increase on out-of-state students.

Payne said the plan set Wednesday night was important to the future of the UNC system. "(Our efforts Wednesday were) a last-ditch effort to stop any wound to the universities," he said.

He said Wednesday afternoon that a tuition hike was a sure thing, so he was encouraging student body presidents across the system to lobby Gov. Mike Easley, who has to sign the bill for it to become law. "Quite honestly, I don't know what other show of student outcry would convince the legislature," he said.

While Payne stressed future efforts, Young said his focus was doing as much as he could now. "I called Senator Lee's office and told him this is irresponsible decision-making," he said. "I talked to the provost -- it's one thing to have students talking about it, and another to have the University higher-ups involved."

Young also organized an informational rally in the Pit on Monday to protest increased tuition, although student turnout was minimal.

But Michael McSwain, a sophomore from Greensboro, said he appreciates Young's efforts. "I think Justin Young has done a good job of trying to push the cause of informing students, but I feel like the student body has been very unacknowledging of his efforts," he said.

And Young said he spent the entire day fighting to the best of his ability.

"This is one of those days when I'm put to the test -- being a student, being a normal human being and having a life and being the best representative for the students I can be."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.