SLAC
Student Labor Action Coalition
Madison, WI

Student-led Coalition Bake Sale to Protest Regents' Misplaced Priorities, November 5, 2004

Wiley's real stance, The Badger Herald Letters to the Editor, Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Student-led Coalition to Hold Bake Sale to Protest Regents' Misplaced Priorities

In response to the Board of Regents proposal to hike tuition an additional 2% over two years solely to pay for raises for top UW administrators, the growing coalition of concerned students, TAs, and faculty will hold a bake sale and press conference at 8:30 am on Friday, Nov. 5th. Coalition members will then attempt to make a deal with the Regents: the students will give the Regents the proceeds from the bake sale (maybe $20) in exchange for the Regents giving back the hundreds of thousands of dollars they are planning to give to the administrators and instead using it for new classes, new diversity programs, good contracts for all UW workers, and a rebate on tuition.

"The Regents have their priorities totally wrong," said Joel Feingold of the Student Labor Action Coalition. "When Kevin Reilly became UW system president this summer, he said his # 1 priority was ensuring an affordable education for all students. Yet instead of investing in UW students' education - as their mission mandates them to do - Reilly and the Regents want to make students invest in his new BMW."

Added Lauren Woods, president of the Wisconsin Black Student Union, "We understand that Chancellor Wiley needs a raise to stay competitive with his peers at other universities. That is why we are willing to donate 100% of the proceeds from our bake sale to his pay increase, so long as he and the Regents spend the millions for our need to make this university more accessible to students of color and working-class students."

Two years ago, the Regents supported the tuition hike of 37.5%, or $1400/year, passed by Governor Doyle and the state legislature. This August, they proposed hiking tuition another 9%, or $500/year. On both occasions the Regents blamed the declining revenue coming from the state as the source behind rising tuition. Yet this Friday's vote to hike tuition even beyond that 9% in order to increase top UW administrators' salaries reveals the Regents' true, hypocritical agenda. The goal of Plan 2008 as laid out by the Regents themselves six years ago is to "achieve a more diverse and welcoming campus," but this proposal makes evident that they are more interested in welcoming themselves and the university executives rather than the students that are most affected.

Students have joined together with the TAA and UFAS to push for their common goal: a low-cost, high-quality University of Wisconsin that is accessible to all people and treats its employees with respect. This growing coalition, which also includes students and faculty at UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh, has already protested Governor Doyle and the state legislature and has gathered over 1,500 signatures of support, including Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, and - the only student on the Board of Regents - Beth Richlen.

Who: The emerging coalition fighting for equal access to education. Includes the Student Labor Action Coalition, ASM, MultiCultural Student Coalition, Black Student Union, Green Progressive Alliance, WISPIRG, Poverty Action Network, MEChA, the Teaching Assistant Association (AFT-WI #3220), and United Faculty and Academic Staff (AFT-WI #223); this is the same group that led the protest at the Capitol on October 8th, 2004

What: Bake sale and press conference; then presenting our offer at the Board of Regents' meeting

When: Friday, November 5th, 8:30 a.m.; followed by the Regents' meeting at 9:00 a.m.

Where: outside Van Hise Hall (Charter and Linden streets), then up to the Regents' meeting in 1820 Van Hise

click on pictures for larger versions

More pictures at Madison Indymedia http://madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/20006/index.php

Student Labor Action Coalition, Madison, WI

Nov 6, 2004