Save Our Schools: the ongoing saga

In an effort to keep readers posted as to the student response to Chancellor Manning’s recent list of suggestions (i.e. “business model”), I thought you should know that yesterday the Tennessee Board of Revents voted in their quarterly meeting at East Tennessee State University to lift the tuition cap on students taking more than 12 hours.

What this means is that for students who register for more than 12 hours will have to pay a set amount more per hour for those additional hours. In my opinion, this punishes students who try to excel and get through college in a timely manner. Take it from me, you can’t possibly graduate in four years by taking less than 15 hours a semester…

The student response has been – for the most part – overwhelmingly organized. With the exception of a half-cocked protest attempt yesterday (I think two students showed up at TBR headquarters, and they were escorted off the premises), students have organized working groups to address the Chancellor’s proposal.

A new website: Save Our Schools Live will bring up-to-date information on the student response to those interested in learning more. Furthermore, the Save Our Schools Coalition, a coalition of many different student groups, will be meeting in the KUC at MTSU at 3:00pm this Saturday. Tenatively, Dr. Alfred Lutz, the MTSU Faculty Senate President, will be in attendance to address faculty issues and discuss student activism, etc.

The meeting will be structured, and students are asked to attend and to take seriously the topics discussed. We play a very important role in this debate, and it is incumbent upon us to craft a coherent message and outline a plan of action.