Nearly 2,000 march at state capitol to protest proposed university budget cuts
By Adam SneedPublished: January 29, 2009
Nearly 2,000 community members and students from Arizona’s universities packed Wesley Bolin Memorial Park outside the state capitol building Wednesday to protest proposed budget cuts that could strip the universities’ budgets by up to 40 percent next year.
Wearing black clothes and carrying signs saying “40% = death” and“Don’t abandon us,” students rallied for several hours to oppose budget cuts that could be approved by legislative committees on Thursday.Mark Appleton, ASU Undergraduate Student Government president, said he was pleased with the number of students who showed up for the demonstration, which was organized in just one week by the Arizona Students’ Association.
“I think this turnout is phenomenal,” he said.About 1,800 students attended the rally. Several buses picked students up from each university and drove them to the capitol.
Appleton said the protest was necessary for students to make the Legislature hear their concerns on the budget issue.“I think it’s a catch-22,” he said. “If you don’t bring them here,
[legislators] will say, ‘Oh we never heard from anybody, so it wasn’t a
problem.’ [But] when you bring them here, it’s ‘whining.’” --NewsHammer 2/01/2009
0 comments
Post a Comment