EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to a sourcing error, this editorial incorrectly stated the student group College Republicans co-sponsored the rally. The editorial has been corrected.
Last Monday, the state legislature passed what has come to be known as the “doomsday” budget bill – meaning lawmakers left Annapolis with a balanced operating budget that was essentially intended to be a backup plan. Since legislators failed to pass an already agreed-upon measure with additional funding sources, the entire University System of Maryland could be affected. Higher education in the state could see a $63 million cut, and the system could receive $50 million less in state funding. Ultimately, officials believe students at this university could face a tuition increase of 10 percent or more – nearly $1,000 per year for in-state students and about $2,600 in additional yearly costs for out-of-state enrollees.
As it stands, Gov. Martin O’Malley alone has the power to fix the matter, which he can do by calling legislators back to Annapolis for a special session. Many observers believe O’Malley will inevitably recall the lawmakers, but so far he has remained tight-lipped on his plans.
To draw O’Malley’s attention, this university’s College Democrats chapter, the Student Government Association and MaryPIRG are hoping to mobilize the entire student body during a protest today at 3 p.m. on McKeldin Mall. The goal is to show a united front and convince legislators students truly care about the issue. Ideally, a strong showing of student support would help persuade O’Malley to take on the issue.
But when do things ever work out so perfectly? Sure, in one instance, more than 600 students marched to the Main Administration Building to protest then-Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity Cordell Black’s removal and the effect his ouster would have on diversity at the university. Administrators turned around and, just one year later, 44 percent of the university’s 75 newly hired faculty members were of color, a sharp increase from the previous year. It seems administrators took heed to such a strong student response.
However, this doesn’t always happen. A small bevy of students were outraged when university-contracted janitorial supply company Daycon violated federal labor law. Student activists occupied university President Wallace Loh’s office for seven hours. After an agreement to meet at another time was decided, and several subsequent meetings took place, the university still decided to renew the contract with Daycon, much to the dismay of student activists. And that’s just at the campus level.
Once students move on to tackling state issues, the waters get even murkier. At the beginning of this month, 44 activists from this university participated in a rally to support O’Malley’s proposal to create a wind energy farm off the state’s coast. Just a week later, four student activists were charged with criminal trespassing after it appeared offshore wind energy legislation would fail to pass the General Assembly for the second year in a row. Activists worked incredibly hard to try to change the minds of legislators, and the bill still failed. Given traditionally low student voter turnout, much effort is needed to make elected officials in Annapolis and Washington understand which issues students truly believe in.
Of course, the most prominent social uprising of late, the Occupy movement, has demonstrated the relative ineffectiveness of amorphous demands. From national protests to the on-campus letdown when students attempted to camp out on the mall in late October, those who decided to occupy don’t seem to have accomplished much. Early on, when occupiers were asked what they were protesting, the most common response was “Wall Street.” But that’s not a particularly tangible target and the results have been predictably unquanitfiable. The movement, in essence, became just a large-scale rally – one that could’ve been more effective with specific goals or policy recommendations.
The student rally planned for this afternoon has a very specific policy recommendation: O’Malley should call lawmakers back to Annapolis and find a way to prevent drastic cuts to the university’s budget. This is an important issue, and it’s worth your time.
So go to the rally at 3 p.m. this afternoon. Support the student government and activist groups. Show the politicians you do care about what happens to your tuition. But then keep pushing – call or email O’Malley until he relents, and when he does recall legislators, contact them to voice your concern. Do it for self-interest: Our bank accounts are what’s at stake.
