Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 30, 1992 TAG: 9201300179
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
SEEKING QUALITY, AFFORDABILITY
Scot Case stood alone on a mound of leftover snow near the heart of Virginia Tech's drill field.Arms held high above his head, he carried a sign. The words, printed like a child's, said simply: "Let Us Lern."
The words have become a theme for students protesting higher tuition costs and cuts to the university's budget.
And those words, along with music blaring from a pair of loudspeakers, drew first a group - and then a crowd - of students to this spot on the drill field, where student, faculty and staff leaders were talking about the future of higher education.
"We have a right to quality, affordable education," Tony Townsend, president for the Graduate Student Assembly, yelled into the microphone. "Education is not a pork barrel, it's not an unneeded highway. . . . Our message must be clear and unequivocal: Higher education is Virginia's future."
Other state colleges also held rallies at noon on Wednesday.
At the University of Virginia, students gathered in Newcomb Hall to hear Andre Morgan, president of the Student Council, talk about the cuts.
Turnout wasn't as great as he'd hoped, he said. But at least students were learning to contact legislators and to become a force.
"We have to have state funding restored," he said later. "Everyone is very much concerned."
At Tech, Melissa Byrne, president of the student government, said the budget cuts have hit faculty, staff and especially students. "There's not a person here who hasn't felt it. Classrooms are packed, courses aren't offered. . . . The list goes on and on."
It is the same at other colleges across the state.
"When I get out of lab and want to wipe the chemicals off my hands, there's no soap or paper towels," John Barino, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, said this week. "They've got to cut somewhere, but . . ."
It is becoming, leaders say, a question of choice: Who's going to pay for the education; who's going to see the value of it?
"We need to respond," Byrne said. Tuition increases are threatening to deny people an education.
"Some of you are talking about dropping out of school to raise money," Leon Geyer, president of the Faculty Senate, told the crowd. "I know because you've told me."
He punctuated his remarks with: "Why, Virginia?"
And "Where, Virginia, is your commitment to education for all?"
He fears the funding cuts will not stop - unless people act to stop them. "Oh, Virginia," he said. "It's habit-forming, isn't it?"
Pamela Orcutt, vice president for the Staff Senate, added her plea to the state. "Invest in Virginia's future."
A group of students went to Richmond on Tuesday to talk with legislators about the cuts, said Matthew Stegura, a member of student government. They spoke loudly.
At the rally, too, voices were raised.
"But dammit," he said. "If we're going to be heard in Richmond, we need to be loud."
Rally over, Case stepped down from his hill of melting snow.
"I came here to get a quality education," he said, his sign dropping to his side. "I'm beginning to get disappointed."
A graduate student in political science, he is being asked to take on a larger and larger workload. As a graduate of Tech, he has seen class size increase over the years, and tuition with it.
"I was hoping more people would come out here if they saw this sign," he said. "My arms are hurting. And my feet are cold. But hopefully, it was worth it."