Student rally and march to the capitol

College students in the state of Colorado are watching as the state makes deeper cuts to higher education funding, leaving the future of their schooling suspended in doubt.

Despite backfill from federal stimulus dollars in the last year, rising tuitions, slashed student aid and even closed colleges continue to be a possibility.

And as stimulus dollars run out in the coming years and Colorado boasts the dubious title of 50th in the nation in per-pupil funding, between 600 to 700 students gathered Wednesday at the Tivoli Student Union at the Auraria campus in Denver and marched to the state capitol in retaliation for their lost funding.

According to the I Am Higher Education Web site, “[t]he state of Colorado has cut state funding for higher education by more than 50 percent over the last two years…more than $300 million dollars. And this year, there are legislators who support allowing institutions to raise tuition by any amount they want.”

Tuition flexibility, the latest legislation introduced by state lawmakers, could give public universities in Colorado the elasticity to control tuition raises at their own discretion.

Andrew Bateman, a 24-year-old senior at the Metropolitan State College of Denver double-majoring in theater and psychology, student government president and chair of the Associated Students of Colorado, spoke of his stance on higher education flexibility.

“We support the general concept for higher education flexibility and we thank senators Morse and Penry for coming to the table and talking about long term solutions for higher education,” Bateman said. “However, we do not, we will not support the legislature deferring the authority of our tuition over to the institution.”

This is just one of the issues students were seeking to garner recognition and awareness of on their rally on the steps of the state Capitol. Many students said that they agree that the reason for the march was to raise consciousness and ignite further action.

To kick off the march, a performance by the Denver-based band Kinetix shared alternating personal stories of debt burdens and cries for action.

Bateman himself said he had some very personal reasons as to why he so staunchly supports higher education.

“I’m going to be the first in my family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree,” Bateman said. “I really recognize in this changing world you need higher education to have hope of a really amazing future. I really want to find a way to make a difference in the world, and one of the best ways to do that is to get into higher education.”

Emily Flynn, a 31-year-old sophomore culinary arts major at Pikes Peak Community College and secretary for their student government, said she was aiming to get people’s attention and bring recognition to their cause.

“I have two kids and this is going to affect them, and I want them to be able to grow up and go to college in Colorado,” Flynn said. “50th in ranking for the United States is embarrassing, honestly. And there’s no reason for it.”

Following individual affirmations of debt, multiple jobs and the juggled consequences of social lives and school, Bateman reiterated the purpose of the march.

“If we wait till next year we are going to be shutting down schools, we are going to be hiking tuition, we are going to be cutting financial aid,” Bateman said. “There’s a study that was released a couple of months ago that says for every dollar the state spends on the Auraria campus, we return $11 to the state of Colorado. That is a 1000 percent return on investment.”

After parading down Colfax Avenue to the capitol and holding up signs as well as traffic, students were met by the Colorado-based hip-hop group, the Pirate Signal, and they marched a circle around the building as they waited for the group to arrive in its entirety.

Keegan Schulz, a 20-year-old junior physics major at Colorado State University, spoke on the steps of the capitol and said that 12 of the 30 schools that make up the higher education system in Colorado were represented at the rally.

“The thing that hit me the most is when [a teacher] said that 12 students had dropped out of CSU because they could not afford the tuition,” Schulz said. “We go to college to make something of ourselves, to learn knowledge and skills, to get ready to go out in the world and making a living, but this hard to do when tuition keeps on going up.”

Karen Middleton, a Colorado state representative for District 42, joined students on the steps in acknowledging the dire circumstances for higher education. Along with recognizing the anger that drove students to the capitol in the first place, Middleton also offered a solution.

“I have an idea, and it’s not quick, but it is long term,” Middleton said. “I’m proposing that we form a coalition that’s not just higher education, but higher education, K-12 and early childhood together. We need to go to the voters and stand up and say, ‘If we don’t invest in early childhood, K-12 and higher education, we’re essentially doing ourselves a disservice that cannot continue.’”

But despite the outpouring of cheers at her suggestion, Middleton also conceded that change might not happen this year.

Regardless, Bateman’s cry to continue support for higher education entails students writing to their senators and representatives, going to the capitol and making sure that their legislators cannot go a day without speaking about higher education.

Ultimately, the rally ended with Bateman’s statements about their goals for the day.

“Here’s what we’re asking for,” Bateman said. “One, we want a long term sustainable solution for higher education so we don’t have to do this every year. Two, we do not want them to wait till next year, it’s going to be too late a year from now.”

Around 40 to 50 students from the CU-Boulder were also present at the rally, including Brittany Havey, a 22-year-old senior media studies major and co-director for UCSU Legislative Affairs.

Though the issue of tuition flexibility is one of the only feasible options for higher education funding on the table right now, Havey said that certain concessions would have to be made should it be passed.

“We have to make sure we pressure our legislators and lawmakers to put in tuition flexibility, so that there’s a fair balance between tuition increases and more people receiving financial aid, like middle income students,” Havey said. “And we also have to make sure that the regents are held accountable and that there is surveillance over them, whether it’s through the legislature or [the Colorado Commission on Higher Education], and there definitely has to be accountability on their part.”

One of the ways students might be able to hold the regents accountable is through the implementation of a student seat on the Board of Regents.

Hailee Koehler, a 22-year-old senior political science major and co-director of Legislative Affairs, said that despite the support tuition flexibility has recently been receiving, especially since Gov. Ritter opted to support it, there are still occasions to justify accountability.

“We could use it as an opportunity to secure a student seat on the Board of Regents,” Koehler said. “We also can talk about an expiration on tuition flexibility, so if the state is every able to fund higher education again they have the power to do so.”

Even given the success of such a huge turnout, especially in light of a turnout seven times larger than in years past, Bateman summed up the reasons for the rally in the first place.

“We’re dead last,” Bateman said. “And that is not acceptable to me.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Sheila V Kumar at Sheila.kumar@colorado.edu.