Tution and State Representatives: Seeing the $ as Students

In 2009-10, the Huffington Post ranked Penn State as having the most expensive in-state tuition of any of the universities in the Big Ten Conference (www.huffingtonpost.com).  Tuition costs continue to rise each year, and as they climb from affordable to outrageous, promising students lose their opportunity to earn a degree from a reputable school like Penn State.  Tuition costs are a major concern for every student attending a major university, and even more so for their parents. Unfortunately as tuition costs rise, scholarships and financial aid are in higher demand, much harder to find, and often do not cover the high costs of attending college.  As students each of us play a different role in financing our education, but we all feel the effects of the rising price tag on our degree. However, we all have power to influence our state legislators for larger appropriations for higher education. Many of us have the power to vote, and we all have the right to free speech. So why aren't we taking action on the problem of tuition?

The answer is we are. However, the students bringing this problem to the legislators are a small minority of our university's population, and most of the demonstration is concentrated to a one-day event called "Rally in the Rotunda". At this event students from all of Penn State's campuses and students from other state-funded universities rally at the Capitol building in Harrisburg and demand higher state appropriations for higher education before their state representatives vote on the annual budget.  This is a dramatic annual showing of unity and concern for tuition costs, however, in order to influence real change students must make their interests and voting power known more than once a year.

Now we are experiencing the perfect opportunity to build this relationship.  This year we elected a new Governor along with 29 new state representatives.  The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) is using this opportunity to connect with our legislators in a new way.  They are hosting a dinner, not to discuss tuition, but to introduce the new legislators to the students of Penn State.

For any of you who are not familiar with UPUA it is the student government at Main campus.  This year I serve as Clerk, so I watched first-hand as the legislation to host this dinner was debated and passed. To many, it may seem counter-productive to spend money on a dinner for legislators and not discuss tuition, but after hearing all sides of the debate, I think it is a great idea.  First, tuition cannot be discussed or the dinner would be considered a lobbying effort, which it is expressly not.  Secondly and more importantly, it allows the legislators to see the achievements and endeavors of Penn State students in a friendly and stress free environment.  This dinner is the first step in establishing an open relationship with our legislators, and through continued interaction, they will being to attach our faces with the dollar signs they see when voting on the budget.

We cannot reach our goal of higher state appropriations for our university education and lower tuition costs by uniting and speaking out once a year.  The saying goes: "the squeaky wheel gets the oil", and our complaints about high tuition must be heard and heard often before our legislators allocate more money to students.  This dinner is the first step in establishing an open relationship and constant conversation between the students and our legislators.  College students make up a HUGE part of the voting block in Pennsylvania, we have so much power, but many of us are too busy to care.

We all care though, as we or our parents sign that tuition check and tighten the belt of the family's budget.  We all make sacrifices for our education, and sacrificing some of your time to vote, contact your representative, or even attend a dinner like the one being sponsored could save us all money later.  The voice of the college student on tuition must be loud, constant, and even annoying until our representatives understand our priorities and our resolve. This dinner is a great way to begin this conversation by seeing the students as students, and hopefully they will remember our interests when voting.

I would like to open this question up to you. What are your thoughts about the problem of college tuition? And what are some actions students could take to combat these problems?  I'd love to hear any of your comments or questions.