Gov. Jay Nixon has proposed a 12.5 percent cut, about $55 million, to higher education in Missouri. The proposal, if passed, would mark a 25 percent decrease in state support for higher education over the last three years. Missouri already ranks 45th in state support for higher education and dead last in the Southeastern Conference.
The facts are devastating, and the student response must be even more overwhelming. The Missouri Students Association is leading a letter-writing campaign — the most effective way to change legislators’ minds. Students who are opposed to the idea of an increase in tuition or a decrease in funding for student services, programming and resources for the University of Missouri should take up this call to action and write their state representatives and senators.
Those in the statehouse have long overlooked the student voice because civic action is not a characteristic our demographic is known for. Already, almost 2,000 letters have been written to those in Jefferson City, an amount that cannot be ignored, even by the governor himself, and this is only the beginning.
The rest of this week, MSA will be tabling in the MU Student Center and encouraging students to weigh in on Twitter with the hashtag #MoreForLess. Take a minute to complete a letter. Fight for Mizzou. Write your representative.