After a two-hour debate on two bills, the SGA could not reach a final decision on whether to support a tuition increase scheduled for next year.
The Student Government Association had originally planned to present a bill in Annapolis supporting or opposing the 3 percent increase, which was included in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s budget. They hoped to reach a decision before Terrapin Day, the university’s annual lobbying day, which is being held Mar. 1.
But two bills, one supporting the increase “if necessary” and the other opposing any hike in tuition, both failed at last night’s meeting. Now, the SGA may be forced to hold a special session later this week to decide how to deal with the first tuition increase in four years before they have to present their position to state legislators.
The first bill on the tuition increase accepted the hike as a done deal, since state legislators can only cut from, not add to, the governor’s budget. But some legislators, while agreeing the hike was inevitable, worried the bill could set a bad precedent for future state tuition increases.
“We’re taking a political and symbolic stance” against the increase, South Campus Commons Legislator Lisa Crisalli said.
Many legislators opposing the bill said the tuition hike could discourage students, particularly low-income ones, from pursuing higher education.
Arts and Humanities Legislator Kenton Stalder presented statistics that 30 years ago, tuition at a public university in the state cost just $780 in 2009 dollars. He said the state needs to ensure all students can access higher education, not just priviliged ones, and argued the SGA shouldn’t back the tuition increase because most students don’t support it.
The considerable opposition to the bill eventually killed it with an 18-10 vote.
Stalder had drafted a second bill “in about 10 minutes” immediately before the meeting in case the first bill didn’t pass. The bill, which opposed any increase in tuition, was immediately criticized by many legislators for being hastily written and sloppy.
“This bill is contradictory, and we cannot pass it,” Denton Community Legislator Ian Winchester said. The bill failed on a 15-14 vote, with Speaker of the Legislature Kelley Chubb casting the tie-breaking vote.
Throughout the debates, SGA President Steve Glickman urged legislators not to make a hasty decision and asked them to pass a bill only if they really believed it was something they would be proud to bring to Annapolis.
Stalder reminded everyone how important it was to come to a decisive stance on the issue before going to Annapolis.
“If we say it’s OK this time, all they’ll remember is we didn’t complain about it,” Stalder said, and that seemed to be the concensus in the room as the meeting closed.
farrell@umdbk.com
