Personal Stories

submitted by doozer511 on Wednesday, July 30 2003 at 12:50 PM

Wolfwebbers,
Oftentimes lawmakers use the excuse for tuition increases that "they won't really affect students" particularly since "parents pay their tuition anyway". And for budget cuts they claim the "they won't have any real affect on students" and they will instead simply "cut the fat". Well, I am off on a mission to prove that all of the above excuses are completely untrue.

I'm trying to find a way for lawmakers to see past the administrative end of the University and see the faces of the people their decisions affect. I am requesting that each of you who have been affected in some way personally by tuition increases and/or budget cuts, email me and tell me exactly how. Your statement can be anywhere from 100-500 words. I am not looking for statements like "they suck" or anything like that; that would simply be not helpful. Students who have had to take on extra jobs, pick up more hours at work, going deeper in debt, having classes cut from the budget cuts, library hours, etc.

I will be undertaking this large project and just need a few of these "stories" to start things off and give examples to other students of what we are looking for in spreading the word. Hoping to get as many substantive responses as possible by Monday, noon. If you could include your full name (sorry legislators don't know people by their user names) and year that would be good.

Thanks very much - your help will be enormously appreciated.
Amanda

posted by Maugan on Thursday, July 31 2003 at 9:23 AM

Great idea, I really hope people get on board with this. I don't have any story except that the money that has been taken affects me whether i know it or not. The whole NCSU community suffers when any of it's parts are experiencing hardship.

7/31/2003 9:31:23 AM

This sounds like a really great idea! Where should we send our responses?

7/31/2003 10:27:28 AM

Just PM me with them. That'll work great. We're going to try to get a whole book together of them eventually. But we could use a few for example to show other students how to write theirs, ya know what I mean?

[Edited on July 31, 2003 at 10:40 AM. Reason : etc..]

7/31/2003 10:39:36 AM

The budget cuts do not just affect students directly, they also affect the state employees and the institution trying to serve you as students. Health care costs have gone up with no raises to cover them for the last two years. One of the engineering tutorial center has been shut down. The university tutorial center has had to beg for additional funds in the middle of the last two years just to have enough money to pay tutors that help university students free of charge, the tutorial center has lost a position - the writing and speaking coordinator and much more. College of Management advising has lost three positions and the advising ratio is out of control. And, there is much more.

Write on, people.

7/31/2003 10:50:15 AM

you should probably post the format you want these in because you probably want these written as a letter.

example:

To Whom it Mat Concern,

*story*

Sincerely,
John Doe
Freshman Electrical Engineering

or

Dear Legislator,

*story*

Sincerely,
Jane Doe
Junior CHASS

RL

7/31/2003 10:50:57 AM

they still wont care, because most students don't vote. so why would they suddenly feel motivated to do something about a group of constituents who will do nothing to get them out of office...

also, when they come back in the fall, the only issues the Senate is really going to look at are more than likely Med Mal/Tort Reform and economic development. The House, IF it comes back in the fall at all, will only be back to redraw maps. You're better off collecting letters from now till May, and then unloading them next May when the GA comes back for the 2004 session...it will have a greater impact then...


but good luck...

[Edited on July 31, 2003 at 10:55 AM. Reason : .]

7/31/2003 10:54:06 AM

Format doesn't really matter. They aren't letters, just stories, so I will put them in a format like this:
Name
Institution
Email Address
Story.....

I am collecting these all year, to prepare for next spring legislative session to decide on the FY2005 budget. I just need a few by Monday at noon to use to present the idea to the Council of Student Body President of the UNC system, so that they can begin collecting the stories on their campuses also (they are experiencing the same problems we are). So, pass the word along to all your friends so that if they have a situation come up they want to tell a story about they can just send it along.

Also, we I agree. Stories from employees will be helpful also regarding the budget cuts.

Thanks for the input you guys. You can just post your stories in this thread or PM them to me, either way.

7/31/2003 11:41:40 AM

i wanted to minor in business management, but I heard they aren't letting people with non-business majors do it. those bastards. I dont have much to say but they need to get more professors so people can minor in business.

7/31/2003 12:26:27 PM

Well, yes that's true. Basically you can't minor in business management right now. The loop hole is to sign up for a double major in business management and drop it after you get all the classes you need for your minor but shhhh Right now the College of Management doesn't have the professors or money to get more to give non-major students the classes they need to get a minor -- they barely have enough to cover their majors. So, they are considering options such as making it less popular by calling it a "management minor" and making it more a spread of accounting, econ, and business classes (particularly since accounting and econ classes aren't have the over capacity problems that business classes are). If you want your say on the matter you should probably email the Associate Dean Zuckerman in the College of Management.

7/31/2003 1:04:39 PM

students don't eat mac and cheese and ramen noodles for nothing

i am the first person in my family to go to college so my parents aren't familiar with dishing out a few grand every semester. i didn't have a college fund or any savings for my education. i am a financial burden on my parents.

7/31/2003 1:05:23 PM

Good luck with this doozer511--hopefully you'll get some good responses. I agree with packguy381 about with goals of the legislators, so it'll be an uphill battle.

I could write pages about this, as you know, but I think I'll just offer a suggestion:

Get community colleges and private universities involved in this effort. Make this a battle to save higher education in North Carolina. Community colleges have had their budgets slashed and tuition increased--and their services (given the states' unemployment) is probably more needed than public universities. Private schools are pissed that the Legislative Tuition Grants, etc. are being cut.

Again, best of luck...everyone should submit!

7/31/2003 1:07:40 PM

I sent mine to her, and im not a good writer at all. So anyone should be able to do this, especially if i can.

7/31/2003 1:09:14 PM

Be sure to reference Article IX, Section 9 of the Constitution of North Carolina:

Quote :

"Sec. 9. Benefits of public institutions of higher education. The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense."

7/31/2003 1:56:51 PM

Just sent my letter, little too long to post here...
This is a chance to actually have your voice heard about something that directly affects you and your checkbook!

7/31/2003 2:14:14 PM

Quote :

"Be sure to reference Article IX, Section 9 of the Constitution of North Carolina: [quote]Sec. 9. Benefits of public institutions of higher education. The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense."

[/quote]

unfortunatly that argument doesnt work for the GA

because its so relative

"as far as practicable" may mean tuition costs of $500 (or whatever) a year to you, but to the State, it may not be practical to offer tuition that cheap.

7/31/2003 2:40:56 PM

they'll sure find it a lot more concrete when student sue them for going against their constitution. besides, a lot of freshmen legislators actually didn't/don't know that clause in the constitution and should be informed of such. and, it's good for them to know that we as citizens (and voters) do know what our protections are as students under the constitution.

[Edited on July 31, 2003 at 2:47 PM. Reason : edit]

7/31/2003 2:47:05 PM

this is true

7/31/2003 3:08:05 PM

and the last I checked, the constitution was written for the citizens of NC, not for the legislators only.

7/31/2003 4:19:50 PM

Quote :

"College of Management advising has lost three positions and the advising ratio is out of control"

COM is really bad off, and the advisors we do have (dr earp, padilla) all suck ass. I'll get a letter to you ASAP Amanda - good luck

7/31/2003 7:56:48 PM

It comes as no surprise that many freshmen legislators did not know about the clause but that in itself isn't really alarming. All of the legislators rely on staff to ensure that their bills are proper and in line with existing standards.

BTW- I think i read a letter that you wrote to my legislator a few weeks back

7/31/2003 8:44:18 PM

Consider this:
Bush's "No Child Left Behind" Act requires teacher certification, right?
Well unfortunately, I can't find a single college in this area that is capable of providing the courses required for certification. Each college (e.g. NCSU, Meredith) has but a few of numerous courses required for certification. On top of that, of the couple of classes a college is able to offer, it is not able to offer it to everybody who needs it. Unless the university receives enough funding to provide the number of courses and sections needed to serve those seeking certification, we will end up with two pieces of legislation fighting against each other.

Teachers are required to receive certification, but universities aren't provided with the funding to allow such certification.

8/1/2003 12:18:02 AM

Quote :

"and the last I checked, the constitution was written for the citizens of NC, not for the legislators only."

yeah but good luck getting budget provisions changed without them

8/1/2003 8:41:26 AM

SkiSalomon - which legislator do you work for?

8/1/2003 9:54:05 AM

in order to have some more weight with the legislators, a la what packguy and Kay_Yow have been saying, you might also consider pitching this to the faculty senate and collecting stories from faculty and staff who have been affected by rising tuition and, particularly, the budget cuts. professors who have seen class sizes balloon, funding for TA's and graders cut, cuts in lab supplies, etc; getting anecdotes from a demographic who do take part in the voting and political process will raise the concern on this issue with the voices downtown.

8/1/2003 9:55:04 AM

I agree Shadowrunner, and will work on that. Thanks for all the comments everyone, and the stories so far have been incredible. Very real life example of the affects. I'll keep you posted on the progress as this project goes on. Thanks!

8/1/2003 9:59:21 AM

amanda if you need any help with access, I work for the Speaker and Richard works for Rep. McComas, so we can probably help you out if you need anything

8/1/2003 10:54:49 AM

Make sure you write to the Representative who you can vote for. I.E. where you are registered to vote, you can look them up very easily. Address the letter to them, and include your address.

8/1/2003 3:24:13 PM

i have a good story. pm me for details.

8/1/2003 4:33:31 PM

Wow amanda, thanks for doing this first off. Lets see, the readers digest version of my story. I lived here in raleigh for 15 years then moved to SC for highschool, there for I was an out of state student. My first year was grueling trying to find a way to pay for all that tuition, I had to beg and borrow from family members because my parents couldn't pay any tution at all. When my second year came around, I had stressed too much on trying to pay for school that I didn't have time to study to stay IN school, so I had to drop out and go to a community college here in raleigh (also known as Wake Tech). That second year was hard because I took on 2 jobs as well as a full load of classes at wake tech in order to stay as close to my class academically as possible. This summer I've reapplied to NCSU and got in, but I had to apply for independent status so that I could afford to come, as well I was thankful to get instate tuition thus making is so much easier to pay for school.
Hope this helps!
<>< Andi

8/1/2003 6:41:53 PM

check out the email I just got, then tell me the cuts don't affect the students...

Students,

I regret having to cancel ENG 252-005 at 2:35 - 3:25 pm in fall 2003.
We have run into staffing problems and simply do not have a qualified
instructor.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Brian Blackley
Assistant Head and Scheduling Officer
NC State English Department



Motherfuckers, 1 week from classes starting and they cancel my class???

8/8/2003 3:16:33 AM

Due to budget cuts. I lost my job at the library for the summer. I was counting on that job so that I could pay my rent and other bills without having to spend my scholarship money, which would be used for tuition. However, since I lost that job, I had to spend a lot of my scholarship money.

Douglas A. Brooks
Senior, Electrical Engineering

8/18/2003 8:20:56 AM

If the General Assembly agrees on a tuition freeze, it will be at the cost of the entire University of North Carolina system. When professor’s salaries are being raised, electricity prices increase, and maintenance of the college itself rises, a fixed number is not going to pay for the expenses at hand. If the university cannot pay for professors, there will be instructors who are going to be laid off, which will cause classes to become larger. When these classes become larger, but money is not there to build larger classrooms that can accommodate all of the students, there is no place for all of these students to go. If classes do become larger, the quality of learning is not as high as if the classes were on a more one-on-one level with the instructor. If electricity prices are raised and money is not allocated to pay for the fullest extent of electricity use, there will not be night labs or libraries open in the evenings for students who work outside of their dorm rooms or apartments. Without keeping the college a desirable place of learning, there will be few prospective students. Without these students, the college will eventually result to nothing. It is quite disturbing that the recommendation for a tuition freeze from the UNC Board of Governors, who have an actual student representative, would put the quality of many collegiate institutions at such a risk for failure over an extended period of time.
The state’s economic status indirectly affects the state school’s tuition. The college relies on revenues from the state, and if the college cannot receive those funds, the resulting money needed comes from the tuition of the users of the university. Either the money given to the school should be spent judiciously or the money needs to come from the people who are using the university, not from taxpayers. Taxpayers will be the people that the money comes from, if the tuition is frozen. There is no reason why taxpayers should have to pay for one more thing that they don’t use.

9/3/2003 10:27:38 AM