Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Opinion

"When anybody says, 'It's not the money, it's the principle,'
they mean it's the money." - Yes, Minister
We commend Gov. Martin O'Malley and the state legislature for their admirable handling of the University System of Maryland in the face of a budget crisis. Facing a projected $1.5 billion budget deficit, legislators raised taxes and made deep cuts totaling $300 million into state budgets. The University System of Maryland only suffered a $6.8 million cut, making it likely the system will be able to extend the in-state tuition freeze for a third year.

The freeze marks a remarkable change in the state legislature's culture regarding higher-education funding. In a nearly identical situation in 2003, when the state had to balance a slightly smaller $1.3 billion shortfall, higher-education was one of the first areas of the budget offered for sacrifice. The system's budget was cut 16 percent - a disproportionately higher rate than other areas - and left system administrators a $77.8 million deficit they were forced to meet with layoffs and mid-year tuition hikes. System Chancellor Brit Kirwan called the budget crisis, "a devastating blow ... set[ting] us back four to seven years."

The most important lesson for students to learn from the 2003 fiasco is the role of student advocacy in securing higher-education funding. Then-student regent Andrew Cantor blamed student apathy for giving state legislators the impression that the tuition hikes were affordable saying, "They're not upset about it enough to go down to Annapolis and do anything about it." While the current crop of politicians seems to acknowledge the primacy of higher education funding, it is by no means a guarantee of permanent support. Student vigilance and activism on behalf of the university will always make a difference. Rather than absorb the damage of cuts to higher education funding, the state government took the decision to raise taxes and minimize the impact to public programs.

It may seem counterintuitive to raise taxes during an economic downturn, but if the state has any intention to ameliorate the effects of economic variability, it must fund higher-education to have a robust economy grounded in technology and research.

University President Dan Mote's statement during the bleakest days of the budget crisis in 2003 still rings true today: "For the state to succeed it must build a great university system. No state will succeed in our society without a great research university underpinning it."

We're happy to see the legislature has figured this out.

Policy: The signed letters, columns and cartoon represent only the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback's editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.

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