by Justin Boulmay
Staff Writer
Two years ago Appalachian State University student John C. Barefoot
attended a protest at a Board of Governors meeting to show he was
against a proposed tuition increase.
He said he believes the protest played a part in the proposal’s
reduction.
“I think some people were really feeling the pressure because
we were literally standing over their shoulders while they were
[voting],” Barefoot, a junior political science major from
Thomasville, said.
Students will once again take their voices to the BOG tomorrow to
show their opposition to tuition and fee increases, which the BOG
will vote on at the end of the week.
The protest is being led by the Association of Student Governments,
formed by the student governments from all 16 members of the University
of North Carolina school system.
Appalachian’s SGA President Rachel A. Johnson, Chief of Staff
Heather A. Robertson, Rules Chair Dorothy M. Andrews, Director of
External Affairs Jud Watkins and off-campus Senator Howard S. Schreiber
have led the on-campus campaign, called "Cowboy Up!"
SGA advertised the protest through posters, messages on AppalNET,
e-mail and table-toppers in all on-campus dining areas, Johnson
said.
Efforts have also been made to get advertisements on the televisions
and computer screens in Plemmons Student Union, Johnson said.
While SGA has not received much student response as of press time,
Johnson said they were not looking for a certain number, but for
people with the right attitudes.
“It’s more important that we have people there who care,”
she said. “We want people there that really understand that
this tuition increase thoroughly affects students, that the staff
members … are against it, the faculty members are against
it.”
Students joining the protest are not guaranteed an excused absence
from class, although Johnson said faculty members were informed
of the protest and would probably be lenient.
The protest was originally scheduled for Feb. 13, the same meeting
at which Dr. Kenneth E. Peacock was named chancellor of Appalachian.
The BOG was also expected to vote on the student fee increases that
day, but ASG Vice President for Public Affairs Jeremy P. Engbretson
said last month the vote was pushed back.
Governor Mike Easley sent a letter to BOG chair Brad Wilson, in
which the governor expressed opposition to tuition and fee increases.
ASG assembled and produced copies of “The Personal Stories
Project: Faces, Not Numbers,” a collection of stories written
by students who have been affected by rising educational costs,
and distributed copies to each member of the BOG.
A second volume is in production, although ASG has not set a release
date.
The response from students of the 16 schools in the University of
North Carolina system had also caused the BOG to push back their
vote, Engbretson said.
“I tell you right now, they [the BOG] are reeling,”
Engbretson said Feb. 11 at an SGA meeting.
“They understand students are on the offensive.”
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