Get facts straight
Flipping through the Statesman lately one can find lots of good stuff; cartoons, articles about campus events and departments. One can also find some crap; articles, letters and comments ripping apart the Utah State legislature for HB331 or other reasons. I say its time to get some facts straight about the Legislature. They did not take a $20 per day payincrease. They voted last year to DROP their pay by $20 a day during special sessions, this year they didn’t make that vote, taking their pay back to what it was the year before. Try getting your facts straight.
People harp on the Legislature for passing HB331. Do you really think they wanted to? Do you think they sit there in the Capitol and come up with ways to make students leave Utah. NO! The issue of higher ed appropriations isALWAYS one of the toughest battles when budget time comes around. Higher ed actually took one of the smallest hits out of any agency in Utah.Also, the bill wasn’t even initially put forth by a member of the House, it was proposed by a member of the Board of Regents, the body which governs Utah System of Higher Education.
Even with HB311 in place, Utah has one of the most lenient residency laws in the western United States. In some states you have to have graduated from high school in that state to even be considered for residency.
One writer commented on how Legislators who come from Box Elder and Cache county could stay in their own homes and commute every day. I would like to see that person get up at 5:00 every morning to be at meetings which startat 8:00 then spend all day at the Capitol in meetings. Then drive home 2 hours at 10:00 PM and do it all for the 45 day session. Be realistic.
One things is for sure. People need to get their facts straight about what is happening. Anne Stanely hit it on the head, each person needs to get to know their representatives. Here at school we tend to get blinded by the fact when things affect us and think that nothing is happening to anyone else in the world.
We have a major financial crisis in the country, EVERYONE has been hit. We can either whine about it and make things hard for everyone, or we can realize that everyone is in this together and work together to find thesolution. If we continue to just be mean to each other, nothing will get accomplished.
Alex Earl435-764-2335