Pitt students lobby in Harrisburg against cuts

State Rep. William Kortz, D-Dravosburg, asked Pitt students gathered in the Pennsylvania capitol… State Rep. William Kortz, D-Dravosburg, asked Pitt students gathered in the Pennsylvania capitol building whether or not they want to stop the education funding cuts proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett.

More than 250 students shouted, “Yes!”

The annual Pitt Day in Harrisburg took on renewed meaning yesterday when students from all five Pitt campuses lobbied against Corbett’s proposed budget in the capitol building in Harrisburgh yesterday.

Corbett’s budget proposal, presented in early March, calls for a 50 percent reduction in state funding for higher education. Pitt stands to lose almost $110 million in aid from both state and federal sources, an amount that Chancellor Mark Nordenberg called “stunningly deep and disproportionate in application.”

In the intervening weeks, a number of Democratic and Republican legislators have spoken out against the cuts, and students across the state have banded together over the Internet, in letter-writing and in Harrisburg yesterday to oppose the cuts.

Student Government Board President Molly Stieber said this year’s Pitt Day in Harrisburg saw its largest turnout in recent years.

“All of you here today are the reason that we will have the chance to prevent these cuts,” she said.

According to the Pennsylvania state constitution, the deadline for passing a finalized budget is June 30. However, budgets have frequently come in long after that date.

Stieber said that previous rallies and the letter-writing campaign all led up to the lobbying effort in Harrisburg. She stressed that the letter-writing campaigns at Pitt will continue and that students should still visit their representatives.

During Pitt Day, many students had a difficult time meeting with their representatives because the House and Senate were in session throughout the day.

Sophomore James Dougherty met with State Sen. Elisabeth Baker’s legislative director, who assured Doughtery that Baker, R-Dallas, was not in support of such drastic cuts.

“It was really an encouragement to hear that,” Dougherty said.

Some students had more luck meeting with legislators.

Sophomore Reid Goldberg met with State Sen. John Pippy, R-Moon Township, and State Rep. Randy Vulakovich, R-Glenshaw.

Goldberg said that Pippy was against the drastic cuts, while Vulakovich said they were merited.

Goldberg also met two staffers along with a group of students. And although the students weren’t given any promises on the future outcome of the budget, Goldberg said the trip to Harrisburg was worth it.

“It’s stacking the deck against Corbett, and this shows it’s not just a Democrat and Republican issue, but an issue about students,” he said.

Stieber said that the Pitt Day in Harrisburg had “passion.”

State Reps. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh; Matt Smith, D-Pittsburgh and Kortz and State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Pittsburgh, condemned the drastic cuts to higher education in the main rotunda in front of a staircase packed with Pitt students and administration.

“Support our education, the future of our nation,” the students chanted.

Frankel said that when Corbett announced the budget proposal, he emphasized that balancing the $4 billion deficit would be a “sharing sacrifice.”

But Frankel said the cuts have been “placed squarely on the backs of students.”

He added that there will be no Marcellus Shale extraction tax under Corbett’s budget — a point of contention for many students and legislators.

Kortz emphasized that students need to be proactive, and Smith said students should fight for a full restoration of funding.

“There is no excuse to ask students and families to bear the full brunt of the burden,” Frankel said.

Sophomore Leah Farinola said she has three younger siblings who want to go to college and that she is already having a difficult time paying for her college education.

Nordenberg spoke to the students, saying that what brought everyone together was the belief in higher education. He also said that he understood that Pitt will have to experience cuts because of the deficit.

“Pitt has always stood ready to accept a fair share to balance the budget,” he said.

The Pitt appropriation has been cut in six times in the last 10 years.

“We do know sacrifice,” Nordenberg said.