In response to a $53 million cut in state funding from ASU, Undergraduate Student Government Downtown has organized protests and is making student engagement a main priority for the next academic year.
In early March, student government members from the Tempe and West campuses and around 50 downtown ASU students marched at the State Capitol against Governor Doug Ducey’s proposed budget plan.
“We made statewide news. I mean, if you look, we were on every single outlet. You saw everybody’s pictures, we were there,” said Ryan Boyd, USGD senator for the College of Public Service and Community Solutions.
Ducey signed the budget on March 12, cutting $99 million in funding to all three of Arizona’s public universities. Northern Arizona University was cut $17 million and University of Arizona $28 million.
Boyd believes the protest definitely made an impact.
He said that there is plenty that USGD and the student body can do to protect ASU students’ education and find sustainable solutions in the face of rising education costs.
“The more people who are involved, the stronger we are … each individual counts,” he said.
James Arwood, Public Policy major at the downtown ASU campus and student organizer, said it is important to keep in mind that there is a new budget every year so there is still a lot people can do to have an influence.
“The best thing we can do right now is to inform each other of what has happened and what has transpired,” Arwood said.
Arwood also helped out with the student protest in March by doing things like spreading the word on social media and making a speech at the State Capitol.
USGD members aim to start working closely with departments at the Tempe, West and Polytechnic campuses to implement policies that would give each student a voice and ensure they are a part of the decision-making process, Boyd said.
“Some students, it may be public speaking, some students, it may be making posters. Whatever it is, we need to utilize the abilities of the student body to really get them involved in each step of the process. We have to empower students,” Arwood said.
After the budget was proposed, Boyd and Daniel Martin, Senator of Undergraduate Student Government at Tempe, worked closely together on preparing 24 hours before students rallied at the State Capitol.
Martin said the experience strengthened the relationship between him and Boyd and that he wants to make use of that bond more in the future.
There are different ways of looking at the current situation, Martin said.
On the one hand, people can follow the advice of state legislators and wait until the budget naturally rebalances itself, he said.
“Personally, I don’t think that’s a viable option for students. Many of us won’t be here in a couple of years … it affects you now,” Martin said.
ASU has proposed to increase tuition fees to programs such as the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Barrett, The Honors College. Barrett students would pay $250 more per semester, and all incoming freshman Cronkite students would pay $250 more per semester.
Related: University presidents, Board of Regents meet with students to discuss budget cuts, tuition increases
One idea to keep students informed would be to organize “call to actions,” Boyd said.
It would involve giving brief updates to students about the financial situation at different on-campus events like “Movies in the Park” downtown or “Popcorn and Politics” in Tempe.
“We want to make this a part of the culture,” Boyd said.
Students will know how they will be affected financially and would have a clearer idea of what they can do to make a difference, even if it is as simple as talking with a state legislators for a few minutes, Boyd said.
Moving forward, the focus should be more on working with local and private organizations and to provide private scholarships for the students who need it most instead of primarily looking to the state for funding, Martin said.
“There’s a point where the amount of money we’re getting from the state is so small that it doesn’t make sense to listen to the state anymore,” he said. “But I don’t want to get to the point where the funding from the state is so minuscule that we’re effectively not a state institution.”
More students will have a chance to get an education if they seek out alternative sources of funding such as research grants and alumni support, he said.
“Anyone who wants to go to higher education and is willing to put in the work and … has the intellectual capabilities should be able to,” Martin said. “I believe we should never have to turn someone away for money.”
Contact the reporter at osimchyg@asu.edu
