For the first time, Penn State student leaders joined their peers at Temple University this week, airing grievances about the exclusion of state-related schools from Pennsylvania's most recent tuition plan.
Gov. Ed Rendell's Tuition Relief Act excludes Temple, Penn State, University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University, the four state-related schools, and University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) President Gavin Keirans hopes to bring all four together against the legislative snub.
By banding together with Temple, UPUA is taking an important step in rallying together against the state government's decision and establishing camaraderie among this group of four.
Although Penn State and Temple were the only schools present during this rally, Keirans said he is also reaching out to University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University.
And while there haven't yet been any official cooperative plans between the schools, both schools should take advantage of this opportunity to join the other state-related schools.
Combining these schools will help strengthen their claims against the proposal and, more importantly, lay the groundwork for future cooperation of the four state-related universities.
By enlisting the aid of the three other universities, the claims made by each university is now stronger. After all, Penn State, Temple and Pittsburgh are three of the largest universities in the state, and all have a significant economic impact on Pennsylvania.
UPUA should be recognized for taking significant action against this issue. The university's student leaders frequently voice their displeasure by holding a discussion in a meeting or by drawing up a resolution.
But traveling to protest shows the student government is passionate about this issue.
It's nice to see Penn State's student leaders take the initiative to protest this proposal's exclusion of their school and reach out for the support of the other state-related schools.
We hope these four schools can continue to show support for one another in the future.
