Rally and forum bring attention to deep cuts to higher education | Politics

Funding for higher education was on the mind of hundreds of students, faculty and community members today with both a community forum and an on-campus rally highlighting the issue.

In the face of continuing severe budget cuts to higher education facilities, such as Western Washington University, Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College, as well as a decrease in grants and available funding for students, concerned citizens expressed their concerns.

“The time to be silent is over,” said WWU student trustee Ramiro Espinoza at the mid-morning rally.

WWU, like all state universities, has traditionally received a majority of its funding from the state. This year that number has dropped to less than 35 percent state funding causing WWU to give itself a new identity, declaring itself a “publicly purposed” university.

“Public education is becoming something that’s not public anymore,” said Byron Starkey, WWU’s student member of the panel at the education forum. “Public education is aimed at individuals who can’t afford the rich private schools.”

Not only is higher education getting more and more difficult for students to afford, educators and students fear the lack of funding may also affect the quality of education. Chris Cavnar, Bellingham Technical University’s student panel member stressed the importance of having up-to-date equipment. Without it, he said, some programs may lose their prestige.

With that loss of prestige comes the devaluation of students and their degrees. Essentially, students would be paying more, for much less. 

“We can’t afford to de-vest in higher education,” said WWU provost Catherine Riordan, another panel member.

WWU President Bruce Shepard, unlike his counterparts at both BTC and WCC, did not attend the public forum. He had travelled to Olympia to address the issue with other representatives from state schools.

With that danger at the forefront of students’ and teachers’ minds on campus, the rally was fueled by chants of “Students united will never be divided,” and “Education cuts, no thanks, bail out the schools, not the banks.”

“Funding for higher education in this state is at the tipping point,” said Steve Swan, vice president for University Relations at Western. “Continued deep cuts could have serious economic and other consequences for our community that includes a university and several colleges.”

Both the afternoon rally and the community discussion encouraged concerned citizens to connect with their representatives in Olympia and stress how important funding for higher education is.

At the rally, one student organizer encouraged students to take out their cell phones, and call Olympia, right then. Starkey said between 50 and 100 students made the call. Most had to leave voicemails.