Amid the drumming, chanting and cheering, Oregon college students invaded the Capitol building Thursday and called for better university funding and support.
It wasn’t a typical day in Salem. Hundreds of students from colleges, universities and a few high schools across the state showed up to voice concerns at the largest rally for postsecondary education since 1999. In addition to making a presence outside the Capitol, the building was completely open for all students to visit their senator or representative’s office and discuss higher education in a casual setting.
“It’s been too long since higher education has been a priority,” said ASUO President Jared Axelrod. “It’s really been on the back burner.”
The rally, organized by the Oregon Student Association, featured a wide array of speakers, including Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Chemeketa Community College President Gretchen Schuette, and two state representatives. One after the other was greeted by ecstatic students, but perhaps no one got a warmer response than the governor.
Kulongoski approached the podium to loud, enthusiastic chants of “Te-ddy, Te-ddy…” that delayed the speech for several minutes. Once the crowd finally quieted down, the governor called for more investment in higher education.
“To change the way we look at education, understand that we must make an investment in the education continuum,” he said. He praised the students, faculty and education proponents in the crowd for taking time to attend, and pitched his new “Shared Responsibility Model,” which was unveiled last week. The new model for need-based aid in Oregon would reinstate students’ ability to work their way through college, according to the OSA.
“Unlike our parents and grandparents, we can’t pay for college with a job,” said Courtney Sproule, OSA Communications Director.
Kulongoski said the model will show the country that “every person in this state who has the will to go to school has that ability. It will tell the people of the state that we are making an investment in our future, and you are that future.”
But the biggest impact yesterday was probably made inside the building. Kulongoski was one of several speakers who strongly encouraged students to go meet legislators face-to-face.
“I’m so grateful that we have such an open legislature and we can go in there day after day,” Schuette said. “The legislators are smart people. They’ll figure it out.”
Sophomore Jessica Derleth, who is currently interning with the ASUO, said she was impressed by the volume and enthusiasm in the crowd.
“The unity of students from campuses is what makes it powerful,” she said. Derleth thinks the crowd made a difference by “just letting the officials know we need this. The statistics are startling.”
Those numbers rank Oregon at 46th in the nation for state funding per student, and Oregon had the fifth largest tuition increase in the nation since 1991, according to the OSA.
“Slowly but surely, maybe sometimes not so slowly, we’re pricing you out of an education,” said Western Oregon University Professor Dean Braa. “It is finally time, after 17 years, to reinvest in higher education.”
Local politicians were on hand to meet with and listen to students.
Senator Floyd Prozanski was impressed by the rally’s vitality, and said that it gave legislators “an awareness that young people care about the opportunities that are provided to them.” Although he couldn’t attend the rally because the Democratic Caucus was in session, Prozanski had the chance to peek out the window. He said the sound of the rally penetrated the Capitol building walls.
Prozanski also said he wants to maximize funding to reach “a higher threshold of opportunities for young people.”
Eugene Representative Phil Barnhart did make it outside to the rally, and said he fully supports the cause.
“It’s really important to get the energy level up on these kinds of issues,” he said. “This will help make certain that higher ed is in people’s attention. If we want to fund the University system, and we do, we have to realize that to get there we have to have the money to do it.”
Undergraduate Leah Severino hopes the rally will drive legislators to minimize student debt.
“I definitely consider myself a middle-class citizen and the cost of tuition is just astronomical,” she said. Severino is expecting to graduate approximately $20,000 in debt.
Axelrod is optimistic about the rally’s influence.
“Today’s the big day and they’ll definitely see what’s going on,” he said. “This rally combined with the meetings will do it. It’s going to create a very positive impact and I think they will listen.”
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