STUDENTS MOBILIZE IN MARCH ON THE CAPITOL: Wednesday 11AM

submitted by markgoal on Monday, April 30 2001 at 11:34 PM

As you read this, many students are hard at work to make Wednesday's March on the Capital a success. This is not something we can afford to slack off in. This is not something that student government can do on its on. We need YOU to come out to the Bell Tower at 11 AM Wednesday to March on the Capitol. We are in the middle of a budget "crisis", and our General Assembly is ready to throw education down in the dumpster. We cannot, and must not let this happen. We will not allow our voices to be muffled. As individuals, we can speak. Together, we are a FORCE! Let our lawmakers know that we do not ask, we DEMAND better. Most of all, let them know that we care. I expect to see each and every one of you at the Bell Tower Wednesday at 11AM. It's time to take a stand.

posted by Joe on Tuesday, May 1 2001 at 1:34 AM

i'm gettin' fired up... this is gonna be something else... lotta people... i can feel it...

5/1/2001 1:46:17 AM

Get fired up!

5/1/2001 2:41:00 AM

ill be there!

5/1/2001 9:14:32 AM

I know that you think that a march will help, but I'm not so sure. I work for a Senator and know alot about the budget crisis. Our legislators don't want to have to cut money from any program, most of all education. In fact education gets the largest chunk money in the budget. I don't want students to think that their government doesn't care, becaues most people here at the General Assembly are wonderful people that want to help. Please understand that there is over a 900 million dollar shortfall, if you can think of a better way to get the budget to balance without making cuts then you know more that alot of professionals.

5/1/2001 11:30:18 AM

if you work for them, then suggest this, my freinds and I have ran the numbers, increasign the food tax from 2% to 3% should bring n enough revenue to cover the proposed education cuts. Most people dont even know that food tax is only 2% anyways

5/1/2001 11:38:15 AM

Yes, that would actually cover most of the shortfall.

5/1/2001 12:15:41 PM

Guys don't get me wrong, I'm a student too. I don't like cuts. But this is a hard time for the state, nothing is above cuts. ALL areas are doing similar cuts. I suggest that you find out who your Senator and Representatives are and contact them personally. They do respond to you, I know because I do alot of these reponses.

5/1/2001 12:24:52 PM

Quote:

"They do respond to you, I know because I do alot of these reponses."

Talk about a contradictory statement.

5/1/2001 12:46:29 PM

Oh, I get it. Don't cut Student Budgets.....cut everyone's budget by increasing taxes???

5/1/2001 1:40:41 PM

There are somethings more important than tax dollars. Do you plan on forgetting the last 70 years of progression in the political realm? Gee, why don't we just get rid of education, social security, and the Easter Bunny?

5/1/2001 1:43:13 PM

Let me clear my statement up, My Senator writes a response and I make sure that its is typed and sent out!!!

5/1/2001 2:36:34 PM

I'll be there but will have to leave a bit early to return to campus and take a running test

5/1/2001 4:38:53 PM

Cut it from the prisons! Dont cut it from education!

5/1/2001 4:43:01 PM

I'm gona be there.

Hey, should we have a special WolfWeb section or something?

5/1/2001 4:53:09 PM

I agree with the Vet. Prisoners are living in more luxorious rooms than most schools. They at least have air conditioning in every part of the prison while some of the buildings on this campus don't or won't

5/1/2001 5:21:40 PM

I wonder if she's the one that corrects the grammatical errors of her representative's constituents.

5/1/2001 6:06:13 PM

wear RED!!!

5/1/2001 8:13:47 PM

take back our education!! la4whatever, how can u honestly say that they want to help? they are raping the UNC system and you damn well know it. they have a ton of options, and if they cant figure any of them out then the can go fuck themselves. we've already had at least two different ways to cover the shortfall from students, so i guess that by your reasoning we know a lot more than those "professionals" in the General Assembly.

5/1/2001 10:12:46 PM

Representatives seem to use the words "more funding for education" whenever they want to get our votes and get into office, yet as soon as they need to take money from something you dont hear them loudly proclaiming that education is the first area they want to cut it in...

Seems a bit two-faced to me.

5/1/2001 11:13:23 PM

ncsucoo, i dont see how that would break everyone, my idea, woudl increase, on average, your yearly food budget just under 20 bucks

5/2/2001 12:11:23 AM

What do you guys think about using the proposed budget cuts as a decoy? I mean people get as pissed off as we are now and vehemantly(sp??) oppose this, they won't be as ready to oppose a different proposed budget cut in a different area. Another idea to think about, could this cut be used as an incentive for the state to introduce a State Lotto?

5/2/2001 12:25:15 AM

Oh I know this is part of their politics to get any lottery passed on their terms.

5/2/2001 12:33:51 AM

why not have a state lotto?

everyone else does. Oh yeah, North Carolinians are to rightous... couldn't possibly allow the poor to waste away their money on lottery tickets, that would be irresponsible of us.

5/2/2001 12:33:56 AM

I'll say this again: the lottery is irrelevant to the budget cuts and therefore is a nonissue.

5/2/2001 12:49:14 AM

That is an outright lie.

5/2/2001 1:22:05 AM

the food tax should be abolished. you should not need to pay the government in order to eat.

5/2/2001 1:42:43 AM

[sarcasm]Or we could just eliminate all taxes and the public educational system.[/sarcasm]

5/2/2001 3:14:23 AM

I have made a flyer for you all to hand out in your classes today, if you can do it before 11 A.M. , for the march on the capitol. Let's mobilize, people! Show them that we will not stand for this treatment.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~gdpeters/marchflyer.doc


[Edited by DirtyGreek on 5/2/2001 at 4:08:08 AM. Reason: yep]

5/2/2001 4:07:54 AM

gancho: it was merely seperated from the general Sales Tax a couple years back and lowerd to 2%

5/2/2001 8:40:22 AM

I don't pretend to know the answers to balancing the budget, but I do know that our elected officials are not the bad guys!! I hate how the public has this idea of how the government runs, when in fact it is a truly honorable body. I have been at the General Assembly since January when the session started, and have been amased at how hard these people work for the state of North Carolina. You have to remember that we have a citizen legislature, these people give their time to make our state a better place. I hope that the march is successful today, I'll be looking for you guys.

5/2/2001 9:08:01 AM

I'm there, 11am wearing red!

I'm skipping 2 classes and missing part of work for this, so we better kick some legislative ass!

5/2/2001 9:47:01 AM

it seems that la4adpi is a gov't harpy.

5/2/2001 11:36:25 AM

I do love government! It is a useful tool to keep our society running smoothly. I plan on making it my lifes' work to serve the public. I'm sorry that alot of you don't really understand the processes of the legislature. I'm sure you guys would be shocked to know that I'm a liberal democrat.

5/2/2001 12:19:47 PM

ld4whoeveryouare....

hehehe What are your thoughts on our little intrusion?

5/2/2001 1:25:34 PM

Did anyone check out the tents behind the Legislative Building? I was inside talking to Senator Rusho from Mecklenburg County but I was told that Chancellor Fox was out back eating at a cookout with the Legistlators. Anyone else see this?

5/2/2001 3:43:39 PM

saw that, and that tent caught an earful. CUT YOUR PICNICS NOT MY EDUCATION!!

5/2/2001 3:46:38 PM

dont be ignorant. the picnic was being held by some agriculture group. they were footing the bill. its called making friends in high places and it would serve us well too.

5/2/2001 4:17:19 PM

exactly....the tent situation did not help us at all. We should have appeared to have been an informed, educated peaceful group of demonstrators fighting for our cause. Instead when our group started shouting at the people in the tent we appeared to be....well typical ignorant college students. Things would have been much smoother if they had not been there.

5/2/2001 5:50:54 PM

Quote:

"why not have a state lotto? everyone else does. Oh yeah, North Carolinians are to rightous... couldn't possibly allow the poor to waste away their money on lottery tickets, that would be irresponsible of us."

Forget being righteous, lottos that are not targeted to provide supplemental money to education, mainly financial aid, do not work!

Virginia has an "educational" lottery, in which funds are given to education. In actuality, education recieves more money because the tax revenue that was originally funding it was pulled to provide money for something else. Passing a lottery that is not explicitly for financial aid or some kind of supplemental program is stupid and doesn't work. Education recieves no more money, and the additional revenue can be spent on whatever the legislators may want (General Assembly golf course, anyone?).

The only state lottos that actually help education are those that are directed at financial aid. Look at the Hope Scholarship program in Georgia. Because of the lottery, any student that can make a B average in HS gets a full ride to the institution of their choice. And because that lottery is directly targeted towards a scholarship program, the universities are still appropriated the same funds from tax dollars.

A need-based or merit-based financial aid package is the only state lotto I would CONSIDER endorsing.

5/2/2001 5:52:42 PM

Georgia is the model we should follow. I must add there version of NC state is better. hate to say it but its true.

5/2/2001 6:21:04 PM

Anyone know where State Senator Hugh Webster is from, as in what area he represents? He came outside at one point and yelled "Go To Hell State," I was just wondering if anyone knew where he was from to notify people that he's up for re-election sometime in the future.

5/2/2001 7:50:14 PM

It's funny that the government talks about the immorality of a state-supported lottery, yet meanwhile, the govt. imposes its own monopoly on alcohol sales. Where's the morality there?

Just food for thought...

I was one of the senators that helped draft Resolution 12, a bill concerning the state lottery. We tried to make a bill that did not oppose nor advocate for the development of a lottery. However, our bill called for "the North Carolina General Assembly to allocate any proceeds from a State Lottery fully fund a state-wide need based financial aid program." As the March proved today, we want Higher Education at the forefront of the GA's agenda! One of the shortfalls of the Hope Scholarship program in Georgia is that it fails to recognize (to an extent) that we do not all have access to the same opportunities. Particularly as a land-grant institution, NC State has a mandate to provide cheap, quality education to all the sons and daughters of North Carolina citizens. That is why the senators opted against including Hope Scholarship in our resolution.

Senator Webster is a jackass. Straight up. He's the esteemed senator from Alamance, Person and Caswell Counties (so any TWWers out from Burlington--email him your comments). I know that SBP emeritus Pettigrew followed Sen. Webster into the tent and demanded an apology from him--while our beloved Chancellor stood alongside him. I'm gonna make sure that the students of NC State get that apology.

5/2/2001 8:50:17 PM

I agreed completely with Resolution 12, and acclaimed it. I am saying that the Hope Scholarship works better than...say...the Virginia lottery b/c it is supplemental financial aid. Both need and merit-based aid would be good, while need-based aid may be more of an issue in NC. I am saying that a need-based Hope type deal would work.

5/2/2001 10:05:15 PM

http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/senate/senator.pl?sUserID=26

You may email Senator Hugh Webster: mailto:Hughw@ncleg.net.

[Edited by markgoal on 5/2/2001 at 10:08:43 PM. Reason: a]

5/2/2001 10:08:15 PM

I do agree we may not have the same opportunities, but as I know it the hope is based on GPA. we all have the same oportunity to a GPA. I went to an impoverished HS and graduated with a 4.3 GPA. I beleive that would qualify me. About Mr. Webster, I do beleive if that was UNC out there i would have said the same thing Sorry about going off topic.

[Edited by Patman on 5/2/2001 at 11:56:57 PM. Reason: ?]

5/2/2001 11:54:47 PM

The acceptable standards for speech and conduct differ significantly between a fan at a basketball game and a representative at a political function.

5/3/2001 1:01:50 AM

With Resolution 12, isn't asking the General Assembly to put all proceeds that come from "a lottery" saying indirectly that we all, all 32,000 students want the lottery to pass so that the money can go to education?

Maybe I read into things but the way that I as well as others see it is this way. Could you explain this to me?

5/3/2001 7:06:42 AM

no, i think you need to read the bill more carefully... it only says that if there is a lottery, then the proceeds should be directed towards financial aid, not that when there is a lottery that should be done

5/3/2001 11:59:02 AM

I don't need to do anything. I didn't read the bill in the first place, I commented on a post above. However, by saying that you would want the money from a lottery to go to education ten you are indirectly supporting the lottery in the first place. That is common sense.

5/3/2001 12:28:28 PM

I just had a long chat with Senator Webster on the telephone, and apparently, he went to State. He said that he was upset b/c he was apparently on the phone with a student doing an interview.

Comments of note:

Quote:

"If you think that that conduct was appropriate I think that you probably aren’t intelligent enough to be in a university."

Quote:

"a herd of wildebeasts"

Quote:

"Your conduct was reprehensible"

When asked if he would support any budget cut on education, he responded:

Quote:

"I support a balanced budget."

In addition, he still feels that his comments were appropriate, and claims that we "hurt our cause".

That phone number again is 733-5745

5/3/2001 3:46:56 PM

nice to know that people are actually stupid enough to constantly reelect him, and that he deflected questions. he will probably be reelected next year provided he has no future aspirations in washington because that's the kind of people he represents. people who are too gullible and would much rather elect him than "a tax-and-spend liberal."

[Edited by 4howl1 on 5/3/2001 at 5:58:06 PM. Reason: spelling]

5/3/2001 4:58:10 PM

I also want to tell you that I had a great conversation with an outstanding representative, Representative Yongue of Laurinburg. It is good to know that some of these guys are on our side.
http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/house/representative.pl?sUserID=110

5/3/2001 5:17:37 PM

My sister went with the UNC delegation to lobby this morning (Thursday)and she said that legislators seemed to have mixed feelings about the march. Some thought it was awesome (legislators who don't want the education cut) and some said we hurt out case (legislators who are looking for excuses to cut our budget anyways). The biggest complaint seemed to be that we asked for no cuts but didn't offer a solution to fix the budget problem.

I have mixed feelings on this issue. As we discussed in the planning meetings for the march, we would not offer a solution to the budget problem because:
a) we would imediately make enemies out of whoever our proposed solution affected
b) it was the legislators' job to fix the problem (and make the enemies)

Someone can clarrify this position further if they want. I think we were right not to offer a solution at the march because the march was all about making a statement that the student body will not sit idlely by as our education is cut at the knees. Now that we have made our statement, we can start the compromise.

In my opinion, the solution should be to raise taxes. However, I'm sure the legislators made a calculation comparing the number of voters they would alienate with a raise in taxes and the number of voters they would alienate with a budget cut. If the voting record of students is any indication, it was not a difficult equation for the legislators to work out. Hopefully, the protest ( and the Univeristy Bond for gods sakes) showed that math was wrong.

5/3/2001 7:22:42 PM

First, let me point out that the authors of Resolution 12 were both advocates and opponents of a lottery. While we quibbled over whether or not the state should have a lottery, we all agreed that IF the state was to have a lottery Higher Education should get it's fair share. We focused the wording of the bill on need based financial aid at NCSU, so that we could address the bigger issue (or at least the one that concerns our constituents the most). I don't feel as though we supported a lottery through RS 12, but that's merely my interpretation of how the bill reads. To each his own...

markgoal...I'm proud to say that we have a lot of people on our side. The Hugh Websters of the world should not cloud that fact...we had a wonderful visit with Rep. Alma Adams while at the GA--I doubt that you'll find a more passionate student advocate in the legislature (and her hats are awesome).

slackrat (welcome to TWW)...from this point forward, the Association of Student Governments, in strong cooperation with the SG of NC State, is looking towards making that lobbying effort and looking for a compromise. Our association allows us to take steps over the summer to convince the GA that cutting Higher Education is not the way to go. The purpose of the March was to let the General Assembly know that students are opposed to a budget cut--pissed or not, they know that now. The next few months, educated folks will present the General Assembly with alternatives and being able to recall the March will be a powerful ally in our lobbying efforts.

5/4/2001 12:36:07 AM