More than 50 Virginia Tech students made their voices heard in Richmond Wednesday, specifically lobbying against a potential amendment to move a portion of student fees from university funds to state funds.
The lobbying action, called “Hokie Day,” is an annual student government tradition. It had an added urgency at a time when state support has already been cut to Tech by $21.9 million this year.
Brittany Anderson, SGA director of government affairs, said students spoke with delegates about their specific concerns for an amendment that would move a total of $19 million from a higher education auxiliary fund to the state general fund. The amendment was proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine and would go into effect in 2011.
Anderson said delegates who were not directly involved with education-related committees were uninformed of the amendment. “The people were really taken aback,” she
said.
“We talked to some delegates that said they wouldn’t be for that,” said Brandon Carroll, SGA president. However, he said it was difficult for delegates to make any promises on voting down the amendment yet. The lobbying came a week before Gov. Bob McDonnell will unveil his state budget for the 2010-12
biennium.
“I got a lot of, ‘This is something we’ll analyze,’” Carroll said.
Carroll said student government representatives from across the state hope to meet with McDonnell on Feb. 18 to discuss the budget.
“We’ll know what the budget implications are, and have a united front,” he said.
Carroll said he believed McDonnell knows the importance of higher education but it will be tough to stop the cuts without increasing taxes, an action McDonnell has been keen to oppose.
“Basically you’re cutting the long-term investment of the state,” Carroll said. “You might not see everything immediately, but over time ... there are implications of cutting higher education.”
With a $3 billion shortfall in the Virginia budget, state support to Tech dropped by 15 percent in the past year. The university announced last September that federal stimulus money would alleviate the cut for a year, but that Tech would be under pressure again afterwards. Across three fiscal years, Tech’s base budget has been reduced by $68.5 million.
Anderson said the state needs to acknowledge and support the efforts Tech has made to alleviate economic issues.
“The state puts pressure on public universities to take so many transfer students,” Anderson said. Tech takes in about 1,000 transfer students a year, half of them coming from Virginia community colleges.
“They also want the universities to do their part in tuition and emergency relief, especially for families that their parents are unemployed,” she said.
A year ago Tech created a $500,000 emergency aid fund for families who recently lost jobs. Anderson said the delegates were generally very receptive to what the students had to say.
Students from all four-year universities travel throughout the year to Richmond to lobby, with all schools working alongside lobbying group Virginia21, created in 2002.
Brittany Tyler, membership director of Virginia21, worked with Tech students to prepare them for Hokie Day and educate them on the current economic situation of state universities. She noted the importance of a personal interaction between students and the policy makers.
Politicians “don’t ever get to hear or see the students,” she said. A student presence makes college budget woes more of a reality for the delegates.
“I think telling someone their story is different than throwing numbers at them,” Tyler said. “Having students there helps them make decisions.”
Tyler said the trips were crucial, given the current situation for higher education.
“The only thing I can say is keep having students come,” Tyler said. “For our end that’s the best we can do.”