Students Write to BOG, Protest Tuition Hike

The letters are in response to the proposed $400 systemwide tuition increase already approved by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees that the BOG will vote on at its March 6 meeting.

On Tuesday, each of the 32 voting members of the BOG was sent copies of the 15 letters written by the student leaders.

"This way they get to hear real stories of how tuition increases will affect students," said Frances Ferris, executive assistant to student government's External Relations Committee. She said the letters expressed opposition to tuition increases, although she said she didn't have time to read them individually.

Ferris said she thought of the letter-writing campaign last week.

She said she sent e-mails to a large number of student leaders on campus, urging them to send her letters that would be sent to the BOG. She said she sent e-mails to the former student body president candidates and Student Body President-elect Jen Daum, although none of them participated in the campaign. She also sent e-mails to people who attended meetings of the Coalition for Responsible Tuition Decisions, a student group formed to fight tuition increases.

All but two of the 15 letters Ferris received were from student government Cabinet members.

The two non-Cabinet members are members of the UNC Common Cause/Democracy Matters Student Alliance for Campaign Finance Reform, a coalition of student groups that lobbied to get a referendum on the Feb. 12 student ballot that urges the N.C. General Assembly to pass "meaningful campaign finance reform."

The referendum passed with a vote of 5,886 to 786.

Ferris said she was expecting more interest in the letter-writing campaign. "I was hoping for more involvement outside student government," she said.

Ferris said that she hopes the letters will make an impact on the BOG's decision and that even a few letters can be effective. "I doubt the BOG receives a lot of letters," Ferris said.

"Mass e-mails are generally looked down on; it seems like we're lazy," she said. "This shows students have taken the time to sit down and write letters."

Ferris said the letters could help voice the opinions of students not able to attend BOG meetings. "They don't hold meetings at times that are accessible to students," she said. "Midterms are next week, and most students can't just skip their tests to attend a meeting."

She said the letter-writing campaign is an effective way of conveying the viewpoints of individual students rather than just a leader representing his interests.

"It was a first try, but in the future it could be an example (of action) for any issue we take on," Ferris said. "In the long term, letter-writing campaigns could be very effective in bringing about change."

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