Feb 26, 2003

Brothers and Sisters,

I have just come from a meeting with Dean O' Connor and Associate Deans Hodos and Davis. Among other things, I asked them if they could help clarify anything in the tuition remission discussion.

Here is what they told me, in no uncertain terms:

GRAD STUDENT TUITION REMISSION IS STILL ON THE TABLE! They are having just as much difficulty getting any word out of Annapolis as we all have, and it's safe to say that the relationship between the State and the University is a bit strained at this point. There's not a lot of communication going on, and they are clearly as frustrated and concerned as we are.

They said we should absolutely continue to lobby, protest, and fight the proposed cut. Just to be sure, I asked, "So I can go to grad students and tell them that the Dean's Office says that cuts in tuition remission are still on the table and that we should fight it?" Dean O Connor said: "Absolutely."

The University is against this, which they also made clear, but they need muscle. Folks, we are that muscle. We need to be at the forefront of this, as grad employees. We need to go fight it. (This, by the way, is another great argument for unionization: The University needs muscle, and together, united, we can be that muscle, on and off campus.)

I then called the House Appropriations Committee. Here's what *they* told me. Tuition Remission is still part of a series of recommendations being considered by the Appropriations Committee as they develop the actual budget bill, which will likely not be finalized for a while. So, again, it is still definitely on the table. The woman I spoke to, a legislative aide to Pete Rawlings, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said that "nothing is entirely safe from the knife," and that tuition remission "is still up for cutting." She couldn't / wouldn't say if it was likely to be cut or not.

So the struggle continues. GALOL invites all members of the campus community to join us in this fight.

In Solidarity,
Ed Martini
American Studies and member of GALOL