Student Representatives from Vermont State Colleges speak from the steps of the State House to representatives and media about the dire need to radically rethink Vermont's higher education system
BURLINGTON: “I’m really cold right now” said one state lawmaker while attempting to speak to approximately 300 students and educators as they descended upon the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday morning to demand that state lawmakers radically rethink their approach to higher education funding. As student loans replace credit cards as the #1 source of consumer debt in America, many students, sporting white t-shirts proclaiming their person debts to higher education and student loans, cited the now infamous statistic that Vermont is dead last, #50, in funding for higher education.
Calling for higher state appropriation for campuses around the state and protesting the increasingly heavy burden of rising tuition, students flooded into the state house after the rally to take their representatives to task about the crippling debt that many are facing upon graduation. Although some representatives joined the students in the cold to talk about the increasing fears of crippling debt, students were not given an all around favorable reception by their elected officials.
About 300 Vermont Students march on the Capitol steps in protest of the increasingly impossible financial burden placed on students
In stark contrast to the remarks by State Rep. Philip Baruth, who compared overwhelming student debt to indentured servitude, Governor Peter Shumlin reportedly remarked in a meeting that Vermont students should “buck up” and appreciate the opportunities granted to them. Needless to say, many students were not impressed.
In the shadow of fmr Governor Dean's portrait, Philip Baruth speaks with media about the debt crisis that faces many Vermont students
Students were not the only group of Vermonters who chose to take their representatives to task on Tuesday. Joining their fellow citizens, were member of the Vermont Early Educators United group who continued their struggle for the right to organize as early education and childcare professionals, part of the continuing "Put People First" campaign, in collaboration with the Vermonter Workers Center, of demanding that state lawmakers prioritize the fundamental needs of Vermonters above all else. Responding to the claim that "union tactics have gone too far", members of the VEEU joined representatives, including Tim Ashe and Anthony Polina, at the podium in a renewed call for H.97, a bill that would finally allow early educators and childcare professionals to bargain with the state on professional development training and subsidy payments that they claim are critical in looking out for those who look after Vermont's children.
Representatives of Vermont Early Educators United renew their call for the passage of H.97 that, despite passing the House last session, has yet to be discussed in 2012
For more photography by Dylan Kelley, visit his photo blog here.