State of the Student Union

Hello, my name is Lindsay McCluskey and I’m the President of the United States Student Association.  Representing over 4 million students on over 400 campuses nationwide, USSA is the country’s oldest, largest, and most inclusive student-run, student-led organization.  The state of the student union is bleak, but students across the country are organizing and advocating to make education a right.

Students face severe challenges as we move into 2011.  Undocumented students are still denied the chance to achieve the American dream through a college education.  State governments are gutting their higher education budgets, leading to massive fee and tuition hikes and shrinking financial aid programs.  In fact, after over 30 states slashed higher education budgets last year, 43 are planning more cuts this spring. On average, student borrowers are graduating nearly $25,000 in debt, resulting in Americans now owing more in student loan debt than even credit card debt!

Many for-profit colleges are consuming a lion’s share of the Pell Grant yet graduate students with mountains of debt and few job prospects.  Despite efforts to increase the integrity of these institutions by giving federal aid only to for-profits that provide their graduates with gainful employment, corporate lobbyists have launched a massive lobbying campaign to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to bad programs.    And recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution authorizing Congress to set spending levels that would devastate the Pell Grant and other vital financial aid programs.  The list goes on.

These issues, while dire, are not insurmountable, but we have to organize together and fight for the change we want to see.  Despite a political climate that is working against us, we’re not going to wait and hope that our elected officials come to their senses about higher education policy. On February 7th, USSA is launching a national campaign called Where’s the Funding. This campaign is designed to build student power on the campus and state level by fighting back against state budget cuts, tuition and fee hikes, and the increased privatization of public higher education.

On the national level, we’re asking Congress, the White House, and the Department of Education “Where’s the Funding” for us? Where’s the funding to educate our generation and strengthen our economy? At a time when Congress is willing to funnel billions into Wall Street bailouts, where’s the funding for higher education?

But we’re not only asking these questions of decision makers, we’re also proactively working to identify the solutions to the problems that we face and fight for them. We, the students of the United States, are calling on our national leaders to respond to the crisis in public higher education by looking at long-term solutions to alleviate the state higher education budget crises and work with us to save public higher education in the United States. Some first steps we’re asking Congress to take include ensuring more steady funding of the Pell grant by making it mandatory, and preserving funding levels for all higher education programs. While these programs are crucial for college access and affordability, we also recognize that we need even bigger public investment in our higher education system we must ensure that all have access to public higher education and that our generation can get the skills and education needed to rebuild the economy and ensure lasting prosperity. Political leaders often say that our generation is the future, however instead of an investment in us, we see leaders putting American economic future on our shoulders without actually prioritizing the education that will enable our generation to lead our country to economic prosperity.

Campus activism around “Where’s the Funding” will be happening nationwide starting in February.  Whether you’re in student government or you’re a student activist fight against fee hikes, we hope you’ll be able to play a role.

You also have an amazing opportunity to bring the fight to make education a right to Washington, DC by coming to the 42nd Annual Grassroots Legislative Conference and National Student Day of Action for the “Where’s The Funding Campaign”.  The conference is March 19-22 here in Washington, DC.  It’s an incredible opportunity for us to come together, learn from one another, and take action.  For more information or to register, visit www.usstudents.org

Victor Sachez: For decades, students have been the nation’s conscience, standing up for what’s right instead of politically easy.  And

Tiffany Loftin: As with the young people who demanded free speech and stood up for racial integration, so must we fight for progress and justice.

Amanda Jusino: Today, that means ensuring education for all those seeking to achieve the American dream.

Stanley Hardey: And when we finally secure education as a right, all will benefit.

Sofia Campos: For throughout history, it has never been a bad idea to educate people.

Thank you for all your continued devotion to making education a right.  We will continue to fight until everyone has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential through access to an affordable and quality higher education.

Thank you.