Student rally at state capitol 'extremely successful,' organizer says

By Greg Boyles

February 2, 2009 | College students from across the state flooded the steps of the Utah Capitol Friday morning for a rally designed to show Utah state legislators that they will not take budget cuts lying down, said Jackson Olsen, ASUSU executive vice president and organizer of the rally.

From as far south as Ephraim and north to Logan, students showed up to rally against a 19 percent budget cut which is being proposed by the state legislature, and by doing so, showing their support for the 11 percent budget cut proposed by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Olsen said.

"I thought the day was extremely successful, both because we were able to get so many students to turn out from across state, and also because we sent our message successfully to the Utah State Legislature," Olsen said.

Students from USU, Snow College, Southern Utah University, Weber State University and more were present at the rally, many of whom held protest signs showing their distaste for the proposed 19 percent budget cut. Some students from Snow College brought umbrellas to urge legislators to dip into their rainy day fund instead of cutting the budget for higher education, Olsen said.

While students protested on the steps of the capitol, various legislators were given the opportunity to speak to the excited crowed, all of whom supported the student's cause.

"Universities are the solution, not the problem," said Scott Wyatt, president of Snow College and a former legislator.

Wyatt went onto say the budget cuts may help the initial problem, but the long term effects would make Utah worse off.

Shayla Michel, a math education major at USU, said she felt part of something bigger than herself on Friday and enjoyed being able to protest for a cause she felt important.

"At first I was a little anxious about missing class to come down, but then I decided I'd rather miss one day of class than have to stay at school three extra years," she said.

Michel said she felt encouraged and supported by all the speakers and considered the day a success.

"Scott Wyatt's speech was very inspiring and he confirmed my presence here," Michel said. "This was nice after [USU President Stan] Albrecht's speech where it sounded like we could just take the cuts."

Even with he success of Friday's protest, Olsen said there is still a lot to be done to persuade legislators of the importance of reducing the budget cuts. Many legislators, although sympathetic to the cause of preserving higher education, are stuck between a rock and a hard place because cuts have to be made somewhere, he said.

"The battle isn't over. We will be going back down to state Legislature, but not necessarily in a rally form. We will be going down and testifying before the higher education sub comity, We will be meeting with legislators one on one, and continuing to write letters," Olsen said.

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