In the wake of the Arizona Board of Regents’ long-awaited decision on tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year, the UA Graduate and Professional Student Council turned its attention to the future.
One issue raised by the council was the upcoming vote on Proposition 100. The proposition would raise the state sales tax by one cent for the next three years and would fund education and state services programs. Education would receive the lion’s share — 66 percent — of the funds.
“”I can’t impress upon everyone how important this is,”” said GPSC President David Lopez-Negrete. “”It will mean a lot to our university budgets and educational experiences if Prop 100 fails.””
GPSC Secretary and Treasurer Cory Christenson estimated that between $30 million and $40 million in new funds for the university could be raised by tuition and fee increases alone, though he stressed the importance of the sales tax increase.
“”If the sales tax doesn’t pass it will be the equivalent of a $40 million, about a 15 percent pay cut,”” Christenson said. “”The most basic way to put it is that it will create filling for the cuts that might occur in 2011.””
Arizona is bracing for 2012, when the money from last year’s federal stimulus will be exhausted.
Lopez-Negrete also discussed extending the period for adding and dropping classes without penalty to two weeks for graduate students, since some graduate level classes only meet once per week. According to Lopez-Negrete, a tentative date has been set to re-evaluate the add/drop fee for graduate students sometime next September.
The issue that dominated conversation was the upcoming GPSC elections, slated to take place next week from March 28 to April 3. Candidates have officially been declared for representative and executive openings on the council. There will be an open public forum for all those interested in meeting the candidates this Friday at 5 p.m. at the Auld Dubliner on University Boulevard.
This weekend will mark the start of the Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation week. The weeklong series of events is designed to bring together the graduate community, as well as provide opportunities for graduate students to vote in GPSC elections. Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation week will begin with a Family Fun Day at Himmel Park this Sunday from noon to 2 p.m.
