By Summer Wilken
United Council
Currently, the state Legislature is deciding how much state funding to allocate to the University of Wisconsin System – including setting tuition and financial aid. Because of Wisconsin's budget deficit, the Legislature is slashing budgets in a number of programs, and higher education is one of the key targets for cuts. Students, now more than ever, need to fight for their voices to be heard in this budget to make sure that they do not bear the burden of the economic recession.
Tuition is still unaffordable for Wisconsin families, and financial aid has failed to keep up. In a recent study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Wisconsin received an ""F"" in affordability, partially due to the low state investment in need based financial aid. The rising cost of college forces many students to take on multiple jobs while attending school and most graduate with thousands of dollars of debt. According to the UW System Office of Budget and Planning, 67 percent of resident undergraduate students who completed their degree in the academic year of 2006-'07 had student loan debt averaging $21,104.
The Board of Regents' recent announcement to not increase tuition for students whose families' incomes are at or below the median for Wisconsin is a step in the right direction; however, unless our Legislature significantly reinvests in our public institutions, the UW System will continue to fall short of its purpose of providing education for a population that is fully representative of Wisconsin. As a member of United Council of UW Students, I am gathering petition signatures to bring to the Joint Committee on Finance to demonstrate students' demands, which include increased financial aid, affordable tuition and competitive faculty and staff salaries and benefits packages. United Council will also be hosting an informational session about the biennial this Wednesday at 6 p.m. in 1651 Humanities.
To show your support and to fight for the quality of your education, visit www.unitedcouncil.net and sign the petition.
Summer Wilken is a junior majoring in English and ann intern for the United Council.
