ASG opposes $200 state tuition increase

BOONE — Student leaders from across the state resolved this weekend to oppose the state-mandated tuition increases for the 2010-11 school year.

The Association of Student Governments passed a resolution at its meeting Saturday at Appalachian State University urging the state legislature to repeal the 8 percent or $200 tuition increase it passed in August.

The resolution says that if the tuition increase can’t be repealed, the funds raised should go back to the schools, rather than the state’s budget, as is the plan now.

The association is composed of student body presidents and delegations from each of the system schools and is charged with representing the students to the state legislature and the UNC-system Board of Governors.

The resolution also stated that the N.C. General Assembly should approve the tuition rates recommended by the Board of Governors, which considers and votes on each of the campuses’ recommendations.

Greg Doucette, president of the association, said that in the past three years, the state legislature has accommodated the requests of the Board of Governors.

“It lays the groundwork for dealing with the state legislature,” he said of the resolution. “We would really, really appreciate if they defer to the Board of Governors on tuition rates.”

At the association’s October 2008 meeting, it passed a resolution recommending specific tuition increases for each campus — a move later criticized by system leadership as being too hasty. Several campuses’ Boards of Trustees had not yet submitted their recommendations to the UNC system.

This year, Doucette said, the association has taken a different approach to tackling tuition issues.

The multifaceted tactic involves passing resolutions, attending board meetings and gaining feedback from students directly impacted by the tuition increase, he said.

“What I want is for them to talk to their students and find out what the students want,” Doucette said of the system student body presidents.

UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Jasmin Jones said she plans to organize a tuition campaign for the month of January.

Jones said she is organizing a petition urging the N.C. General Assembly to return tuition increase funds to the university system.

“I think this is a perfect opportunity for student advocacy, and that’s exactly what ASG is doing,” she said.

P.A. Rowe, head of the committee that passed the resolution, said he thinks that if the campaign is successful, it will greatly benefit students.

“It would be nice to keep that money on our campuses because we all have our own individual needs that we need to satisfy,” he said.

The success of the movement depends on multiple factors, Doucette said.

“I think unfortunately a lot of it’s going to come down to what the economy is like come April,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic but preparing for the worst.”



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