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What to take from Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State address

January 21, 2014
	<p>Gov. Rick Snyder gives the State of the State address Jan. 16, 2014, at the State Capitol Building in downtown Lansing. Snyder addressed education, road funding, and mental health among top issues of the state. Danyelle Morrow/The State News</p>

Gov. Rick Snyder gives the State of the State address Jan. 16, 2014, at the State Capitol Building in downtown Lansing. Snyder addressed education, road funding, and mental health among top issues of the state. Danyelle Morrow/The State News

Photo by Danyelle Morrow | The State News

Most college students are still looking for answers about the possibility of increased state funding toward higher education after Gov. Rick Snyder’s State of the State address last Thursday night, but chances of a drastically higher investment from the state seem slim. Snyder touched on a vast range of topics, but didn’t emphasize higher education funding in his speech.

Instead, he focused on issues of immigration, support for K-12 schools and advocated for a balanced national budget, among other issues. The fact that higher education was not acknowledged is disconcerting to us, especially with many college students affected by higher tuition rates and growing amounts of debt.

Snyder generally spoke in terms of bullet points, leaving question marks as to how some of his goals will be achieved in the coming year.

Here’s what students should take away from Snyder’s speech last week.

More support for immigrants
Snyder proposed creating the Michigan Office for New Americans to encourage legal immigration to the state — a move which could affect MSU’s large international student population.

A state immigration office might provide extra support for the more than 7,000 international students currently studying at MSU.

Although MSU already has shown support for international communities, this office would expand initiatives across the state. There already is a Migrant Student Services office in Holden Hall on campus, which provides opportunities for study abroad and internships for students from migrant worker communities and gives them support as they go about adjusting to their lives as full-time college students.

Snyder’s proposal for a new office could provide these students, as well as MSU’s international student body, with additional support.

Democrats after the State of the State argued immigration is a federal issue, but we support Snyder taking a stand in trying to keep members of MSU’s diverse community in Michigan after graduation.

Ignored higher education funding
Snyder seemed to be breaking the Republican mold when it came to education issues, pledging his support for investment in K-12 education. But that leaves us nowhere regarding higher education funding.

We are proponents of Michigan’s expected budget surplus being used to help return some funding to public universities.

It’s disappointing he did not address the 15 percent cut to funding for higher education in 2012. Snyder made no mention of higher education funding in his point about the surplus last Thursday night. He was eager to proclaim that he believed we should act as a family and allocate funds wisely, although he did not mention how he recommended the funds be spent.

Bipartisan appeals
Snyder seemed to be playing it safe Thursday night, strategically avoiding a stance too far left or right on any given issue.

He touched on a wide range of topics affecting diverse audiences. For example, at one point he discussed energy policy and stopping invasive species such as Asian carp and the Asian longhorned beetle, and then jumped to a pronouncement of his support for a balanced budget.

It’s apparent he was trying to appeal to many groups during his speech, especially with this year’s looming election. But by trying to appease everyone, he is leaving us with more questions than answers.

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