More students should be like budget summit protesters

Editor,

First, I’d like to thank the students who protested at Monday’s budget summit.

And despite the prolonged meeting, many returned to speak their minds during public comment and did so eloquently, intelligently and successfully. The regents asked that the increase be kept to 5 percent, a more reasonable number than the originally proposed 8.6 percent, and it’s thanks to those students.

On that note, I’d like to say that I was disappointed to see next to nothing in the Daily Lobo that mentions the success of the protest. Last year, no one showed up to protest a tuition increase, and tuition went up 7.9 percent.

A successful student protest regarding budget is nearly unheard of as far as I know, and the people who showed up did so because they believe in the integrity of this school’s mission and in students’ rights to have a say in where their money goes.

When I went around campus asking people to join in protesting the student tuition increase, I was amazed by the number of people who didn’t seem to care about paying hundreds if not thousands of dollars more.

Sure there were plenty of people heading to class, work, etc. But I heard people say, “I don’t care. I’m graduating,” or worse, “I don’t care. I get the Lottery,” and more often, “It won’t do any good.”
I’m not here to point blame, but I am saying wake the hell up.

The students who showed up to protest know that this is not just about tuition increases. It’s about accountability, honesty and ensuring students are seen and heard when it comes to major decisions about our financial and educational futures.

Thanks to those students, we can look forward to a much more reasonable tuition increase next year. They were there; they stood up for you; they stood up for the future of this school, and they made a difference.

Randi Beck
UNM faculty