Past Activism Influences Current Leaders

After protests that included organizing 400 students to storm the UNC-CH Board of Trustees meeting, the final product was lowered to $600 over two years.

Two and a half years have passed, but students are still up against tuition increases of a similar nature. In recent weeks, students have been working against proposals that could have led to hikes of as much as $3,000.

And as student leaders gear up for Thursday's BOT meeting, where trustees will consider a one-year, $400 increase recommended by the Task Force on Tuition, their predecessors say they wonder if students will be as vocal as in 1999.

"I'm curious about what the student voice is going to say," said law student Lee Conner, who headed the Graduate and Professional Student Federation in 1999-2000. "There hasn't been as much activism on campus to this point."

Past leaders said they had many advantages over the current student government in opposing a tuition proposal.

For one, the BOT voted on the increase in the middle of the semester rather than the start of the semester. "The misplaced schedule made it a lot harder for these students," Conner said.

In addition, some said the presentation of the increase in 1999 contained figures large enough to make mobilizing the student body an easier task -- $2,000 as opposed to the $400 increase.

"When we were protesting in 1999, we were protesting a huge sum," said Student Body Vice President Rudy Kleysteuber. "We had a big number to throw in everyone's face."

Former student leaders said they were successful by combining efforts. "We had a really great coalition," said Michal Osterweil, who was a member of the now-defunct Progressive Student Coalition.

Student Body President Justin Young said several current campus organizations have formed the Coalition for Responsible Tuition Decisions, which will work with student government to increase student input in deciding tuition.

But campus leaders said they have not been able to mobilize visible student support because tuition increases have become relatively commonplace in recent years. "We've become numb to tuition increases," Kleysteuber said.

Conner said another tactic utilized in the past was working with faculty and community members to demonstrate opposition to the increase, citing a letter from former UNC-system Presidents Bill Friday and C.D. Spangler supporting the student position as an example.

Young said that due to time constraints, leaders this year will not be working as closely with community members. But he said he is trying to gain support from a variety of sources. "We're getting as much support as we can from all avenues."

Student government also is attempting to tap support from faculty and from students via a Student Central opinion poll.

But Kleysteuber said the period after the BOT vote might be the focus for current students. He said most of the success in 1999 came from working with the UNC-system Board of Governors, whose memebrs vote on any proposal passed by the BOT. "It was less visible activism but more effective activism," he said.

Kleysteuber said he thinks lessons from 1999 will give current leadership ideas for opposing this year's proposal.

"We will definitely learn from history."

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