Students to rally, meet with legislators in Columbia
February 10, 2009
CLEMSON, SC – February 10, 2009 — Clemson University Student Government will join student leaders from other colleges and universities around the state in a rally on the Statehouse steps Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Approximately 100 Clemson students will meet with legislators in Columbia Tuesday morning to discuss the state budget and to lobby against a proposed tuition cap. The students will then hold a rally at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Statehouse. Students from the University of South Carolina system, the College of Charleston, Winthrop University, South Carolina State University and Coastal Carolina University are expected to participate.
“Our goal is to let the General Assembly know that students from across the state oppose the imposition of a tuition cap and that we want higher education to be funded at an appropriate level,” said Clemson student body President Callie Boyd, a senior health science major from Simpsonville. “We are the ones impacted the most by the decision the General Assembly makes on higher education. We must have our voices heard.”
Students also will lobby to urge legislators to restore funding to PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries), a consortium of 60 academic libraries across the state that fosters cooperation on a variety of resources that benefit students and faculty alike. PASCAL’s funding from the state has been cut 90 percent this fiscal year.
“We want the legislators and the governor to know that students care about the future of this state and higher education is a crucial component to our future,” said Jeremy Tolbert, governmental affairs director for Clemson student government and a senior sociology major from Greenville.
