http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
Our voice needs to be heard now more than ever! This is the most drastic state appropriations cuts Penn State has ever faced, it could change the university as we know and love it, and it will no longer be affordable to many students! So please, write to your legislator, send this letter, or sign a petition. They need to know that we are angry at the cuts and that we do not approve! Thanks guys!
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to you as one voice representing 96,000 students, 47,000 employees living in each of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania who are outraged at the recent budget proposing a $625 million cut in state appropriations for higher education. The numbers above represent only the students and staff of Pennsylvania State University, and do not include the hundreds of thousands of students and employees within the Pennsylvania higher education system that will be negatively affected by the current budget proposal. As a Pennsylvania registered voter, who voted you into office last fall, I would like to express my wholehearted disappointment in and disapproval of the proposed halving of the state appropriations for higher education. I would like to serve as a representative voice of your constituents, the students and employees who receive innumerable benefits from higher education in Pennsylvania. The budget proposal will hurt these constituents, and their communities will also suffer. Education is one of the best services our state government provides, it positively affects the lives of students and provides many quality jobs for citizens across the state. I will fight to continue funding higher education because the current and future benefits are apparent and important, and I hope you will understand the reasons for my passion and urgency through my letter.
I am lucky enough to be a freshman at Penn State main campus, and experience a prestigious education at an affordable cost. Penn State is one of the top student-research institutions in the country, and employers respect a Penn State degree. In fact, employers love hiring Penn State students as reflected in the school’s #1 rank in job recruitment in the country recorded in a study completed by the Wall Street Journal in September 2010. Penn State is unique because its state appropriations provide the school with the funds necessary to provide a reduced in-state tuition for Pennsylvania residents. This gives the land-grant university a special connection to the state of Pennsylvania, and students the incentive to study, research, and eventually work in Pennsylvania and give back to the state. However, this year the state appropriations have been reduced by $182 million and this 52.4% reduction of state appropriated funds for Penn State will effectively change the face of the university and destroy its land-grant legacy. If my family is able to make the sacrifices for me to continue to be able to attend Penn State, I will be one of the fortunate ones. Many students here struggle to pay in-state tuition now, and if the state appropriations are cut by another 52% the inevitable and drastic tuition hike that follows will deny many bright Pennsylvanian students the ability to receive a high-quality education from our state. Governor Corbett’s budget cut will drastically change the quality and composition of the Pennsylvania State University. Bright students will be denied a college education in Pennsylvania because they cannot afford it, and Pennsylvania lose students to other states where the student will research, innovate, work in and give back to other states.
The hundreds of thousands of voting students are not the only group of your constituents that are affected by the drastic state appropriation cuts. Quality teachers and employees are also forced to carry the burden of Governor Corbett’s poor decision making. Penn State’s President Graham Spanier said that to avoid placing the entire weight of the budget cuts on the students, programs would be cut, teachers and staffs’ salaries would be frozen, employees would be laid off, staff would not be replaced, and many people who enjoyed quality jobs provided through higher education would become unemployed. Penn State hires 47,000 Pennsylvania residents as employees and is considered one of the largest single employers in Pennsylvania. This number accounts for only a fraction of the amount of possible unemployment from cutting the appropriations to higher education. Other state schools rely more heavily on appropriations than state-related schools such as Penn State to fund their staff and programs. Therefore the budget cuts in higher education affect more than just students and student votes.
Finally, a $625 million cut in state appropriations to higher education would have a negative effect on the state of Pennsylvania as a whole. In Obama’s State of the Union address he stressed the importance to “win the future” through education, innovation, and research. What kind of backwards thinking is taking place in Pennsylvania state government for a governor to propose to effectively break down the type of capital good that will help us become profitable and successful in the future? According to President Spanier, Penn State alone generates over $17 billon in direct and indirect economic impact in the state of Pennsylvania. Penn State only accounts for one large university in the Pennsylvania higher education system pumping huge amounts money into Pennsylvania’s economy. However Penn State is just one of 14 state schools receiving these cuts. By cutting the current appropriations for higher education Pennsylvania is choosing not to invest in a capital good that can increase the possible profits of their markets in the future. While Governor Corbett stand by and lets the gas companies drill for Marcellus Shale in our backyards, the gas companies get off easy with minimal taxes while the voting citizens bear the weight of Pennsylvania’s destructive budget. As a Pennsylvania student and citizen I fear for Pennsylvania’s future, as the state government chooses to cut an invaluable good for the future welfare of the state.
Governor Corbett’s recent budget proposal has devastated my future as a student in Pennsylvania. I have taken the time to write this letter because I am passionate about my education, my future and the future of my classmates, and the future of Pennsylvania. Students, employees and the future economy of Pennsylvania would be drastically and negatively affected by the cuts to state appropriations. If your concern for the people who elected you to represent them and the welfare of Pennsylvania is not enough for you to vote against Governor Corbett’s budget cuts to higher education, then recall the number of voters that are as passionately against the cuts as I am, but frankly too busy to write a letter. Penn State is comprised of 96,000 student voters, 47,000 employee voters, along with passionate, successful, and powerful alumni of 514,000 Pennsylvania voters. We are Penn State and we are proud of our educational experience, and will fight to defend its quality. However, we are not alone, there are 13 other state schools who are equally passionate about their education. Now is the time to respond to your voters who supported you, and vote against the devastating budget cuts on Pennsylvania higher education. Please listen to our voice now, or you will hear our widespread disapproval at the polls when it is time for reelection. Please help the students, employees and future of the state of Pennsylvania by refusing to pass Governor Corbett’s budget cuts to higher education.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Quinn
Katie,
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you have taken the initiative to take a stand on this relevant issue. Your letter is persuasive and professional. I like the intro and how you focused on how many people the budget cuts are unfair to, not just to you as a student. The statistics give you credibility and show that you are knowledgable about the topic and not just someone who is angry and wanting to vent. Awesome letter and thank you!
Sophia