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Published Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 | 10:13 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 | 3:14 p.m.
In Today's Sun
About 150 students — cheered on by university officials — showed up at today’s regents meeting at UNLV to protest potential steep fee hikes and cuts to college budgets.
Students had feared that a 25 percent fee hike could come as soon as spring semester, but higher education officials now say that won’t happen as long as the governor and legislature do not ask the higher education system to make additional budget cuts.
Even so, student leaders presented regents, who govern the state higher education system, with two boxes containing letters signed by more than 3,000 people exhorting regents not to raise fees for the spring semester.
Student leaders said hundreds more people signed letters online via the Web site of UNLV’s student newspaper, The Rebel Yell.
A large fee hike is still possible next fall.
“This fight has just begun,” said Vik Sehdev, vice president of UNLV’s undergraduate student government and one of a string of student representatives who spoke briefly during a public comment session that lasted about half an hour this afternoon.
Sehdev and other student leaders promised to bring the battle against fee hikes and budget cuts to Carson City.
They plan to deliver the letters to the governor’s office along with a message explaining that students want state leaders to find money to fund education instead of continuing to slash budgets, said David Rapoport, a UNLV student government business senator.
Student protestors from all three public colleges in the valley — the College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College in addition to UNLV — attended today’s meeting, filling a spacious room on the ground floor of the university’s Stan Fulton Building.
“Let me say to the people in the back of the room that I am delighted that every one of you is here,” said Chancellor Jim Rogers. “My only question would be why has it taken you so long."
Rogers and regents have long called for more student and public involvement in protesting state budget cuts.
“It won’t make a difference how much we raise your tuition if you don’t have classes to attend,” Rogers told students, noting that the amount of money colleges would raise by increasing tuition by 25 percent would only cover a fraction of the expected budget deficit over the next couple years.
A 25 percent hike would raise about $46 million in fiscal 2009-10.
Rogers and other higher education officials asked students to contact legislators and the governor about the budget.
When a member of the audience yelled that the governor’s office “doesn’t care,” Regent Steve Sisolak responded: “He works for you. You don’t work for him.”
Sisolak told students that if “you burn up their fax machines,” state leaders would pay attention to what students had to say.
Of Thursday’s turnout, Rapoport said, “I’m completely astounded by this. This just makes me proud to go to UNLV and represent them.”
Fight the increase! Don't let them raise tuition until that money gets used at the institutions. There's no reason students should pick up the slack of the rest of the community in these hard times.
Not building a $93.7 million building would have raised $93.7 million.
Does Jim want fancy buildings or to educate students?
http://npri.org/blog/higher-priced-educa...
Looks like Jim has his priorities all wrong.
I think Rogers has now said that the tuition increase is dead.
I wonder if he still lives in LaLa land.
I bet that he is rolling on the ground somewhere kicking and screaming.
Just for the record, the total cost of the building was $93.7 million. $37 million was paid by private donors.
The Chancellor has students' interests in mind, as well as the State's. Having an educated work force is desirable in this global economy. You can't have an educated work force without facilities to teach those students. Not having an education system would've saved billions, but then no one would be living here if there were teachers, nurses, doctors, dentists, mechanics etc.
What the State should do is spend less money on incarcerating people. We could've saved billions by not building prisons. The best way to do that is spend more money on education so that people won't turn to a life of crime to make their money.
I guess this proves that the university system is broken.
The students are so dumb that they just shot themselves in the foot today.
Nance, sometimes you talk and nothing happens.
I got an idea! Tax all the political and corporate media advertising> Rogers gets it all tax and scott free. Gaming pays tax and he gets a free ride. Tax all them millions he just stuck in his pocket and shut him up!
The talk of increasing tuition and fees was just that: talk. It was designed to provoke a response from the student body, and it worked as intended. It was, for all intents and purposes, a successful publicity stunt.
Nance apparently took it seriously, and then announced that college students in Nevada are "dumb."
Poor guy, Nance caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror.
Lord Rogers has been pushing the tutition hike for months.
theBS is calling that a successful publicity stunt. Not so sure about the successful part for other making people feel good I am not sure what they accomplished.
I buy the stunt part. Lord Rogers is just one BIG blowhard publicity stunt.
I guess Lord Rogers can cross that $50 million off his budget wish list.
The students, theBS and Rogers can go back to sleep and in dream in LaLa land.
In the real world, the Democratic dominated legislature will continue to cut the Nevada Higher Education budget and in the future they going to have to ask for another $50 million in cuts since the students quashed this.
If there is at tax increase, like a mining tax increase (only $30 million at the max) or a hotel tax increase, most of it will go to K-12 and other more important priorities. Some of it might dribble down to higher education.
The Democrats will not cut more critical services like k-12 and safety just to give more money to higher education. It is not going to happen.
The Democrats are not that dumb (perhaps just theBS and Rogers) to pass a massive tax increase on businesses who are already laying off people.
A billion dollar cash grant from Obama and Reid is not going to happen. They might give out money for roads and solar panels but not cash to fund government services.
Money from counties and cities for communities colleges is not going to happen.
Selling the tobacco settlement money is not going to happen. That ship sailed a long time ago.
Rogers called for a business income tax (profit) which can not be implemented for years because it requires a change to the Nevada Constitution.
Just a FYI, the economy is still going to suck for least another year and probably 2 more. Expect cuts next year.
Go back to sleep and have your dreams in LaLa land and feel happy about your "successful" publicities stunts.
Good work, Lord Rogers.
jfnance32 - how about it - are you a UNLV grad? And here is a call to all those who have benefited from the education system to ante up a contribution - say a few hundred bucks - it could amount to a lot. Go Rebels!
I know the obvious is lost on you Nance, so let me let you in on the big secret. Rogers was angry that the student body seemed complacent in the face of paralysis on the part of the Gibbers.
You obviously didn't watch the Board meeting, nor were you present, and thus you don't understand how this was used as a way of getting publicity.
The "tuition hike" was used to galvanize support among the student body, and it worked. You can whine and moan and play "Nance the Fortune Teller" all you like, but the fact is this worked. Students got upset and engaged, exactly what Rogers wanted.
For someone who was all whiny just a week or so ago when Ralston questioned the IQ of voters in the rural counties, you sure can become a GIGANTIC HYPOCRITE when you call University students "dumb."
Rationalize that all you like, but you'll still be a hypocrite.
The legislature have their backs against the wall because Nevada's economy is truly suffering.
They are not going to cut funding to K-12 and safety and other higher priorities so that higher education gets more money.
There will be some tax hikes like mining and hotel tax but it is not going to raise that much money and most of it will go to k-12 and safety and just a small part to higher education.
Nor is the Democratic dominated legislature going to raise taxes on businesses that are already laying off employees.
Nor is the Democratic dominated legislature going to raise the sale tax on the people.
Rogers has for a long time been supporting a tuition hike. Go ahead believe that it was a ploy to galvanize support. I guess you are a mind reader for he has never said it was a trick.
Go ahead and send letters to the Democratic dominated legislature and demand that they raise taxes on businessess that are laying off people. Demand that most of the money be use to support higher education.
Go live in LaLa land with Lord Rogers.
KDR, for the first time I agree with you; but the plans for the Greenspun bldg began way before the whole budget crunch started. Education was grossly underfunded in NV even before the cuts. Tuition will need to go up; compared to most state university systems, Nevada's tuition is much lower.