After $250 million in funding was cut from the UW System in the state’s last biennial budget, many different members of the campus community condemned the effect the cuts would have on universities. At a panel in Union South Monday, faculty, staff and students came together to discuss the ways in which the cuts are proving harmful.
The “Fund the Freeze” teach-in event was organized by United Faculty and Academic Staff in coordination with other Wisconsin organizations. UFAS is pushing for “Gov. Scott Walker to fully fund the state tuition freeze through the UW System budget—and to extend it through 2020,” according to a press release for the event.
UW-Madison senior Kenneth Cole spoke first, discussing how critical university funding is to student life, as well as the efforts he has been able to take as a member of the Wisconsin Student Power Alliance, a student-run organization focused on bringing statewide change.
“I think it’s important for students to show up to events like this, make their voices heard and really make sure they’re represented in the biennial budget process,” Ian Oyler, a fellow WSPA member, told The Daily Cardinal.
Teaching Assistants’ Association Co-President Dylan Kaufman-Obstler discussed how the budget cuts have kept TAs from earning a living wage while also forcing them to pay increased student fees. These hardships have led TAs to work extra jobs while also finishing their degree. She also lamented a university plan to pay TAs different salaries depending on the “market value” of their respective fields of study.
“The budget squeeze leaves the university to operate more like a private business,” Kaufman-Obstler said. “The dean of the graduate school actually told me that there isn’t any money in paying teachers because teaching doesn’t make headlines.”
A few faculty members spoke, highlighting staff reductions, a lack of academic advising and an inability to purchase academic resources.
State Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, gave the event’s closing remarks. Taylor attacked Republicans in the state legislature for persistently defunding education, arguing that savings in the state budget could have come instead from curbing corporate tax breaks or accepting federal Medicaid money. Despite the overwhelming Republican majority in the legislature, however, Taylor said advocacy and voting can make a difference in restoring funding.
“A lot of my Republican colleagues are not listening to the people of the state of Wisconsin. We need to make sure that stops,” Taylor said. “I think the good news is there is a lot of collective power that we do have.”