Senator criticizes tuition changes
An old friend and Utah State University alumnus paid student body officers a visit Tuesday.
Utah Sen. Lyle Hillyard, a USU graduate, came to the Associated Students of USU to answer any questions about the now-completed legislative session. Hillyard talked about some of the good – and bad – legislative items that affected the university.
Changes to Tier II Tuition and research monies were one of the things Hillyard said he didn’t like. He said when tuition is raised at a school, the extra funds should be used for student-specific items.
“I think the Legislature, by what they did in this last session, took away some of the things that President [Kermit L.] Hall wanted to use for [tuition],” Hillyard said. “If you pay increased tuition, you ought to have increased benefits here.”
Hillyard said some legislators see research as an easy place to save money. He said it used to be that 25 percent of reimbursed overhead from research stayed at the school and 75 percent went into the funding of programs. Over the years, 100 percent has ended up going toward program funding.
“It doesn’t take my fellow legislators long to be here on campus to appreciate the significance that research has for freshmen … not just for graduate students,” he said.
Hillyard spoke of the recent building boom on the USU campus, with the Eccles Science Learning Center, new Engineering Building, Merrill Library replacement and the new living/learning community all built or under construction in the past five years. He said some people in the senate told him that “maybe Utah State should go a year without a major building project.”
He said the time that USU requested funding for its new library was perfect. If the school had waited a year to request funding, he said, it might have ended up being three to five years before it was approved.
Hillyard said that when other legislators have a question or concern about USU, they usually come to him. He said in the future, USU needs to make the students who are from outside of Cache Valley more persistent in letting their representatives know how to vote on issues concerning their school.
In other council business, a bill proposed by Student Advocate Vice President Les Essig was postponed until next week. The bill dealt with purchasing LoveSacs for the Taggart Student Center. Funding for the bill was being sought from Capital and Support, but President Duke Di Stefano said the request did not pass C&S.
Also next week, Vice President for Student Services Juan Franco will make a presentation on division changes to the TSC. During the summer, some offices will potentially be moving within the TSC.
Next week’s meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the third floor of the TSC. The meeting was moved an hour earlier to avoid conflict with the ASUSU Awards Banquet.
-str@cc.usu.edu