Some Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senators want to voice their opposition to a possible tuition freeze at 20 Penn State campuses, excluding University Park, by holding a rally on campus.
Town Sen. Vicky Cangelosi, governmental affairs chair, proposed the idea of the "Extend the Freeze to University Park" rally at last week's Senate meeting.
"I'd like to hold a rally to extend that freeze to University Park," Cangelosi said. "Hopefully, this will be a new USG tradition."
At the September Penn State Board of Trustees meeting, Penn State President Graham Spanier unveiled a tentative plan to freeze tuition at 20 of the 23 Commonwealth Campuses, while raising University Park tuition 5.9 percent, pending next year's state appropriations.
Cangelosi said she plans to hold the event in front of Old Main to get the attention of the administration and trustees. She added that she plans to ask student organizations and local community members to get involved in the rally. "This is going to be right on our campus, so I'm hoping people will stop in between classes," she said.
USG President and trustee Galen Foulke said freezing tuition at Commonwealth Campuses is a "wonderful" idea because it would help those campuses compete with local community colleges.
Foulke added that extending the freeze to University Park does not seem possible if the university hopes to maintain its quality of education, research and outreach. But Foulke said he did not know enough about the "Extend the Freeze to University Park" rally to comment on it.
The tentative date for the rally is Oct. 26, Cangelosi said.
Kathleen Streaker, Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) president, said increasing tuition at Commonwealth Campuses would not be fair because those campuses are still growing and do not have all the services that University Park has to offer.
Instead of lobbying to administrators, Streaker said more University Park students should come to Harrisburg and lobby to the Legislature for more state appropriations.
Cangelosi said the event would be similar to annual CCSG-organized Rally in the Rotunda, during which students stand on the steps of the state Capitol to ask the Legislature for more state appropriations.
Last year's organizers predicted 300 students would attend the event, but only 150 students attended, with 15 University Park students filling a bus meant to accommodate 90.
Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said he had not heard of Cangelosi's plan for a rally. However, he said students should direct their lobbying efforts toward the state Legislature because the administration's decisions are pending state appropriations.
Pollock Halls Sen. Katelyn Holmes, who is helping organize the rally, said the purpose of the event is to show the administration that the tuition increase is a concern among Penn State students. Holmes said the event will also inform students who may not know about tuition changes and to give a voice to students who have opinions about the tuition freeze.
Kyle Metzgar, USG governmental relations chair, said he has not heard much about next week's event but said that while he is glad people are taking a stance, freezing tuition could actually hurt the university.
Metzgar said the growth in teacher salaries and health benefits account for the vast majority in tuition increases. By having a set tuition, the university may risk losing faculty, which in the end could hurt students, he added.
Cangelosi said she was one of the few people who attended the Rally in the Rotunda last year, and she is hoping for a better turnout next week at the "Extend the Freeze to University Park" rally.
