Student leaders began lining up Tuesday to fight potential tuition increases and programs cuts.
At an emergency ASMSU Academic Assembly meeting, officials called for a commitment to affordable, accessible and quality higher education in the midst of looming state budget cuts in March.
MSU Students Protecting and Representing Education, or SPARE, was formed by ASMSU and other university groups estimating tuition increases upward of 35 percent, $70 million in university cuts or a combination of both.
"I think we all knew the budget was going to be bad," said Jared English, ASMSU director of university governmental budgetary affairs. "There's been a shift downtown in the way the state pays for public education."
Matt Clayson, ASMSU Academic Assembly chairperson, asked fellow representatives, "Where is the state's priority?"
"Prisons get more money than education. That's pretty sad."
Tuition and fees account for 50.9 percent of general operating revenues for the state's public universities, ASMSU officials said.
If the student effort fails, "we'll all be screwed," Clayson said. "I don't think that will happen."
ASMSU banded together to fight Proposal 4 last fall, but university budgetary issues will need a larger collaboration, English said. The proposal would have put money from the state's tobacco settlement toward health care instead of the Michigan Merit Award scholarship program.
"SPARE would be groundbreaking because it would bring so many people together," English said. "This effort will be 10 times as big as Proposal 4 and we only have six weeks to do it."
MSU President M. Peter McPherson said students' voices will be heard before budget decisions are finalized.
"Students will have the opportunity to make their views known," he said.
The group's first plan is to contact student and nonstudent groups, parents and other Michigan universities to form a coalition. From there, the group aims to speak with officials, such as Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
"Everyone has their own lobbying group," said Ahmed Baset, ASMSU director of legislative affairs. "As students of higher education, we are our own lobbying group."
MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson said student input plays a vital role in assessing budgetary issues that affect the university.
"We're going to make the decisions best for the university and for students," Ferguson said. "We're not adversaries, we're all trying to do what's best."
Trustee Dorothy Gonzales said it's important for students to get their message across by being persistent and consistent in getting the Board of Trustees' attention.
"That's all part of being a responsible person as a student and as a citizen," Gonzales said.
Staff writer Mark Hicks contributed to this report.
