Penn State student leaders addressed a crowd of about 100 in front of Old Main Monday afternoon at the Rally for Relief, criticizing Gov. Ed Rendell's budget proposal.
"There is an issue at hand that could influence not just the student body, but generations of students to come," University Park Undergraduate Association President Gavin Keirans said.
Keirans (junior-business management) and three others criticized the governor's proposal, which includes a $20.3 million appropriations decrease to Penn State and excludes Penn State and other state-related universities from the Pennsylvania Tuition Relief Act. The act would provide financial aid to lower-income college students attending state schools through the legalization of video poker.
"I say go further," Keirans said of the Tuition Relief Act, arguing to include state-related schools in the aid package.
Michael Smith, spokesman for Rendell, said the governor was aware of the rally and students should direct their questions to university administrators and not Rendell.
"Gov. Rendell felt that the 14 state system schools have done a better job in containing their costs and minimizing the increase in tuition," Smith said.
Penn State spokeswoman Jill Shockey said the governor's decisions "directly impact" what future actions the university might take to determine student tuition.
Shockey added the administration thinks it is "great students are exercising their voice to be heard on an issue that has so much impact on them."
Also speaking at the event was Penn State's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Kirin Kennedy, who said Rendell's budget proposal reduced the choices for lower-income students -- a group she said includes many students of color.
"Education is a right, not a privilege," Kennedy (senior-geography) said.
Kennedy encouraged students to contact their local state representatives and the governor's office.
Council of Commonwealth Student Governments President George Khoury also addressed the audience. Khoury and Keirans organized the rally last week just hours after Rendell's budget proposal became public.
"We have entered a very dark period for the students here at Penn State," Khoury (senior-chemical engineering) said in his address. "Students must take action immediately."
Khoury recalled a friend of his who was forced to decide between paying his rent and buying textbooks for this semester because of the current economic conditions. The student, he said, goes to the library to read his course material because he cannot afford textbooks.
Rendell's budget proposal is a threat to Penn State and demonstrates "blatant ignorance in excluding Penn State students" from the plan, he said.
Interfraternity Council President Luke Pierce said "despite being nestled in our valley," Penn State students are feeling the effects of the economic conditions.
"A number of our parents have lost their jobs," Pierce (junior-economics) said. "Our stories are different, but we hold one thing in common. ... We are Penn State."
Pierce said students' friends and family members might not have the same opportunity to attend Penn State because Rendell's Tuition Relief Act could limit their options.
