Legislative goals do not include higher ed

By Evan Rohar

From a Seattle PI article published on their website yesterday:
"Rep. Jim McDermott thinks the time is ripe to finally provide affordable health care coverage for all Americans.
"Sen. Patty Murray is looking to win her long fight to expand access to Veterans Affairs programs.
"Rep. Jay Inslee senses an opportunity to boost renewable energy initiatives and cut the nation's reliance on imported oil.
"[Rep. Norm Dicks says] Environmental initiatives in general should fare better under Obama,...specifically mentioning spending for a Puget Sound cleanup and for national parks.
"Maria Cantwell...anticipates welcome changes in White House policies on health care and energy. Specific measures she's optimistic about are legislation to curtail price manipulation in the oil market, and reform of programs helping workers adversely affected by foreign trade -- issues she has addressed previously.
"Rep. Rick Larsen, whose House district runs from Monroe to the Canadian border, sees better times ahead for issues he's worked on as a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee." ("State's congressional leaders outline legislative goals," 12/7/08)

These are all commendable goals. However, as has been pointed out in previous entries on this blog, higher education (as well as primary educaton) has been consistently left out of conversations related to the coming legislative session, nationally as well as on the state level. In fact, the only time legislators and the governor seem to mention education at all is when they are discussing budget cuts. That being said, we must not fall into the trap of demanding funding for higher education at the expense of other programs. This sort of special-interest approach will divide students, faculty, staff, and all state workers as well as people who rely on funding for social and health services, isolating our efforts and turning one against another. Unity is the key to winning the struggle against budget cuts. We must put forward a message which will bring people together in solidarity with one another: No tuition hikes, no layoffs, no cuts to vital state services!