At March 30th’s Senate meeting, Elizabeth Palmer was announced as the SGA Executive President for the 2009-2010 school year. Afterwards I got the chance to sit down and talk with her about her why she is qualified as well as her aspirations and plans for next year. Tune in to find out!
Palmer speaking at the GSSA Press Conference last November
Elizabeth Palmer also serves as the Advocacy Chair for the Garden State Student Alliance. In an interview with Palmer about the rising costs of tuition and what the GSSA does to help stop this, she enlightened me on several important factors, and what we as students can to do help in their efforts. Keep reading to find out…
Q: In what ways has higher education and its accessibility been affected by the economy?
A: Beth over the past 7 years – 10 years actually, within the state of new jersey, higher education has become lower and lower of a priority, to our governor and to our state legislature. Unfortunately what happens is because the economy has become so poor over the past 3 years our state which is already in a bad budget situation without the recession our money is now being spread that much more thin. And because unfortunately the students are not at the forefront of legislators minds and the governors minds and there are a lot of reasons for that Higher education gets cut year after year after year. We are definitely in the middle of a crisis in higher in the state of New Jersey.
Q: What can students do to combat the rising prices of higher education?
A: There’s so much students can do and I don think they realize the power that we have as students. We are constituents in the state of New Jersey, were about the age of 18 – so we can vote. First of all that is the most important thing. Vote! No one can be a better advocate for you than yourself. I would tell every single student in the state of New Jersey who attends a public school to contact directly their assembly leader, senate leader and the governor. Explain to them why higher education needs to be a continued priority on the governor’s budget plan. The reason why were ignored so much and why higher education is consistently at the bottom of the totem pole for money is because they have no reason. If were not going to go vote and were not complaining, they’re just going to keep making us pay more and more. It’s the first place they look it. Students really underestimate the power that they have. I was told all the New Jersey public institutes have about 90,000 constituents, including students, faculty administrators. If we all ban together, and tell them this is what needs to happen because this cannot continue. If you cant give us more money, then stop cutting our budget so much or take some off that stimulus project and fund it into capital projects so that buildings are more efficient Students are their own best advocates and their own best voice.
Q: And is that how the GSSA was formed, a group of students banning together to rise up against this?
A: The GSSA was created about 2 year ago by two student trustees who played a hand in the creation. As a student trustee it is your responsibility to represent the taxpayers of New Jersey. And that is not specific to you school that is across the state. It started as a meeting of the minds and it just evolved. Now we have SGA presidents, other civically responsible students on these committees. The main schools involved are Ramapo, rowan and TCNJ. However Kean, New Jersey City University, William Patterson are involved preferably it’s a grassroots. NJASKU has helped a lot, but this is absolutely an organization run by students, for students.
Q: Why are prices of higher education on the rise?
A: That’s a great question. There’s a lot of factors. The economy. I mean no one can deny what’s going on with the economy and it is not unique to New Jersey. If you lived in California, who has some of the lowest instate tuition, it would still be hiked a little because of the state deficits. But in New Jersey I can tell you what happens Is we are forgotten. And that is what happens. Our state is strained in so many different places were always the first to get cut and the last thought on peoples minds. And that to me is why this continues to happen.
Q: What does GSSA specifically do to help in the efforts?
A: The last year we created a students bill of rights, which basically states any student in the state of NJ has the right to an affordable and accessible education. And every single public institution had higher education awareness week in which students were given information on how tuition works. I believe a lot of students think that their president is sitting in an ivory tower somewhere saying ok well lets raise tuition to fill my pockets. No that’s not the case. It all comes from the state. With that said, we advocated that information to students so they were educated =, and in turn offered them to sign the student bill of rights. Collectively we got a bout 4,000 signatures to the document, which is not bad, but it isn’t great. All in all we could have about 90,000 people sign this document but it’s defiantly a step in the right direction. And that, in turn, got the GSSA a lot of recognition. We held a press conference at the state house in Trenton where Senator Baroni came and spoke on our behalf, and we all ceremoniously signed it (the student bill of rights) and in addition to that every individual school took on their own campaign, because we do want to keep uniqueness to every school. Everyone wants to identify as themselves, but in addition I know that as advocacy chair I got to meet with the Minority Leader of the Senate on Wednesday and had a very productive conversation and now encumbered him as a supporter of our organization. That really where were at right now.
Q: How big of an impact will the rising prices of tuition have on college enrollment?
A: That’s an interesting question. I know certain state schools enrollments have and will go up. A student that would typically go to a school like Seton Hall which is 35-38000 a year or even an upper echelon school like Columbia now cant really afford, and are looking to get into a school like rowan, like Ramapo, TCNJ, that is a little bit less – about 23. How ever the average middle income student is going to face some serious problems because now this is the upper echelon of society trickling down into schools, which is great because enrollment is enrollment, however the middle class student is going to be shut out of an education altogether and I think that speaks volumes of our society in addition to the way funding works. What I believe will happen is that students who are currently enrolled in college who are middle class who do rely on those loans will have to leave their education behind. , Which is perhaps the most devastating thing that could happen to an individual. This can be changed. This budget year, lets be honest, we’re not going to get any more money, but they don’t need to cut us again
