TCC United Against the Budget Cuts is launching an email campaign aimed at encouraging students, faculty, staff, citizens and parents to send a clear message to their legislators in Olympia: Don't cut the means to Washington State's recovery! We are also encouraging everyone to offer their personal suggestions on ways to increase the revenue available for state spending. Remember to tell them your personal story and explain in detail how the budget cuts will affect you.
Please join us in our campaign by taking 5 minutes out of your day to write or call your representatives.
If you look to the right you will see the "Find Your Legislator" link, left click on it. The link will bring you to the Washington State Legislator's "Find your legislator" page. Enter the necessary information, collect your representatives' email addresses and start writing!
Send us an email if you have any questions or comments.
Thanks,
Joseph
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
It Has Been Too Long
Hello All,
It has been a while since I last updated the blog and mailing list. I plan on updating it much more regularly now as we build momentum. As of late we have traveled to Olympia twice; once to testify before the house and a second time before the Senate. The public hearing before the Senate seemed much more positive overall. We have begun to make progress which is heartening, to say the least. Mike and Joseph have also become Student Senators at TCC and Jesse will soon follow; this is important as it offers us another avenue of support.
On Monday we'll be heading down to Olympia to join in a rally alongside the Evergreen Committee for Full Funding and the Washington Federation of State Employees. You are all encouraged to come. More information will be posted at the bottom of this post.
Yesterday I spoke with a lobbyist for a community college in the area. He informed me that legislators take note of as little as "8-10 emails." With this in mind I strongly suggest all of you to use our "Find You Legislator" link to determine your representatives and then send them a well worded message asking them to not cut higher education. I want to remind you though that while we are urging you to write your representatives please do not simply stop there. We must continue lobbying in Olympia, attend rallies and garner on-campus support from students, faculty and staff. It is imperative we recognize the need for shoring up mass, active support for full funding of higher education.
Thank you for all your time and input, we greatly appreciate your efforts and interest in the fight against budget cuts.
Rally Information:
Monday, February 16, 2009
10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Tivoli Fountain Fountain, Washington State Capitol Campus
Olympia, WA
For directions please email stopthecutswashington@yahoo.com
It has been a while since I last updated the blog and mailing list. I plan on updating it much more regularly now as we build momentum. As of late we have traveled to Olympia twice; once to testify before the house and a second time before the Senate. The public hearing before the Senate seemed much more positive overall. We have begun to make progress which is heartening, to say the least. Mike and Joseph have also become Student Senators at TCC and Jesse will soon follow; this is important as it offers us another avenue of support.
On Monday we'll be heading down to Olympia to join in a rally alongside the Evergreen Committee for Full Funding and the Washington Federation of State Employees. You are all encouraged to come. More information will be posted at the bottom of this post.
Yesterday I spoke with a lobbyist for a community college in the area. He informed me that legislators take note of as little as "8-10 emails." With this in mind I strongly suggest all of you to use our "Find You Legislator" link to determine your representatives and then send them a well worded message asking them to not cut higher education. I want to remind you though that while we are urging you to write your representatives please do not simply stop there. We must continue lobbying in Olympia, attend rallies and garner on-campus support from students, faculty and staff. It is imperative we recognize the need for shoring up mass, active support for full funding of higher education.
Thank you for all your time and input, we greatly appreciate your efforts and interest in the fight against budget cuts.
Rally Information:
Monday, February 16, 2009
10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Tivoli Fountain Fountain, Washington State Capitol Campus
Olympia, WA
For directions please email stopthecutswashington@yahoo.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Next Meeting and Updates
Our next meeting with be held in the TCC cafeteria at 12:30pm on Tuesday, February 3rd.
Yesterday we held a semi-informal meeting to make a few decisions. We decided to begin working on several fronts to raise awareness about this issue. Some of us will be trekking down to Yakima to speak at one of the schools o'er there on the eastern side of the state. We hope it will be a fruitful affair. Other members with be working on a poster campaign in which I hope everyone will get involved. Essentially we will be asking clubs and organizations at TCC to place their names on TCC United Against the Budget Cuts posters and hang them in the main hallway of the Building 11 on campus. If we can get 15-2o clubs/organizations involved it would be a major success! We're also working on getting our message out to local campuses. If anyone knows students or teachers at the local colleges please send us an email with their information.
Feel free to email us any suggestions!
Yesterday we held a semi-informal meeting to make a few decisions. We decided to begin working on several fronts to raise awareness about this issue. Some of us will be trekking down to Yakima to speak at one of the schools o'er there on the eastern side of the state. We hope it will be a fruitful affair. Other members with be working on a poster campaign in which I hope everyone will get involved. Essentially we will be asking clubs and organizations at TCC to place their names on TCC United Against the Budget Cuts posters and hang them in the main hallway of the Building 11 on campus. If we can get 15-2o clubs/organizations involved it would be a major success! We're also working on getting our message out to local campuses. If anyone knows students or teachers at the local colleges please send us an email with their information.
Feel free to email us any suggestions!
Monday, January 26, 2009
We Need Our Help!
Some of you are thinking, "we need our help, what are they thinking?" Remember this is a campaign focused on fighting for our interests, therefore we need to help ourselves. We've been receiving more interest in our campaign than ever before and it is crucial we keep it that way! Stop the Cuts needs you to get involved by building satellite groups at colleges around the state and preparing them for a protest in the relatively near future. We need volunteers to educate their fellow students by passing out leaflets/fliers, holding discussion groups, speaking out in classrooms, ect. Hold a puppet show if you think it will raise awareness about the budget cuts! Please email us at stopthecutswashington@yahoo.com if you're willing to offer up a bit of your time and energy for a worthy cause.
Also, just a side note: TCC should have Stop The Cuts buttons available on Wednesday! Hunt down Mike or Joe to find out how to get your grubby little hands on a must-have fashion accessory!
Also, just a side note: TCC should have Stop The Cuts buttons available on Wednesday! Hunt down Mike or Joe to find out how to get your grubby little hands on a must-have fashion accessory!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Small Business Campaign
Tacoma's small businesses enrich our lives daily; we leave their tables, store fronts and tattoo chairs with satisfied grins and the knowledge we have just invested in our community. In return for our investment they color the cultural landscape of the city by adding uniqueness to a market increasingly dominated by big box stores. We share mutually beneficial relationship with our local small businesses, they invest in us and we in them.
In an effort to open the door to a wider layer of citizens TCC United Against the Budget Cuts has begun involving small businesses from the Tacoma area in the Stop The Cuts campaign. Businesses are being asked to show solidarity with the cause by displaying posters produced by TCC UABC.
To draw in more interest in our campaign TCC United Against the Budget Cuts will be getting together will some of our members and trying to come up with ways to sweeten the deal. This could mean offering to link their website to our blog or simply creating an ever-growing list which is sent out to encourage members to patronize supportive businesses. In the meantime, if you walk into a small business displaying our poster let them know you are thankful they support their community.
In an effort to open the door to a wider layer of citizens TCC United Against the Budget Cuts has begun involving small businesses from the Tacoma area in the Stop The Cuts campaign. Businesses are being asked to show solidarity with the cause by displaying posters produced by TCC UABC.
To draw in more interest in our campaign TCC United Against the Budget Cuts will be getting together will some of our members and trying to come up with ways to sweeten the deal. This could mean offering to link their website to our blog or simply creating an ever-growing list which is sent out to encourage members to patronize supportive businesses. In the meantime, if you walk into a small business displaying our poster let them know you are thankful they support their community.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Stop The Cuts Speaks!
Tacoma Community Colleges students Mike L., Joseph C. and Macy P. made it to the Capitol yesterday to testify in front of the Washington State House Education Appropriations Committee. The committee, which met on Wednesday, heard testimony from a number of Washington State colleges, including: University of Washington, Evergreen State College and Western Washington University. Representatives from the state's various educational institutions each spent their time allotment of roughly ten minutes detailing their strategies for handling the budget cuts and reassuring the legislators of their continued promise to deliver quality education at affordable prices despite the Governor's proposals. They also entertained questions from the committee, including one about the University of Washington Finnish studies program!
Unfortunately the committee had no such questions for the few speaking on behalf-and from-the perspective of Washington State's student body. Regardless the students spoke out against the proposed cuts, imploring the representatives to vote in accordance with the will of the majority and to not pass any budget containing cuts to higher education or social services. Additionally, they called on the committee to pressure Gov. Christine Gregiore to go to President-Elect Obama and request for a bail-out for teachers, students and workers, not Wall Street.
Posted below, and under our video section, is a link to the video of the students' testimony. The students begin speaking at about 1 hr 36 min 20 sec or 1:36:20.
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009010077&TYPE=V&CFID=1798439&CFTOKEN=67586938&bhcp=1
Unfortunately the committee had no such questions for the few speaking on behalf-and from-the perspective of Washington State's student body. Regardless the students spoke out against the proposed cuts, imploring the representatives to vote in accordance with the will of the majority and to not pass any budget containing cuts to higher education or social services. Additionally, they called on the committee to pressure Gov. Christine Gregiore to go to President-Elect Obama and request for a bail-out for teachers, students and workers, not Wall Street.
Posted below, and under our video section, is a link to the video of the students' testimony. The students begin speaking at about 1 hr 36 min 20 sec or 1:36:20.
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2009010077&TYPE=V&CFID=1798439&CFTOKEN=67586938&bhcp=1
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
ATTENTION: Call To Action!
To all those united to fight the cuts on Washington state's higher education budget:
We have just learned the Washington State legislature is holding a public hearing, on January 15th, in regards to the Governor's proposed 2009-2011 operating budget for higher education. This is an opportunity to speak out against the budget cuts directly to Washington State legislators. We realize this comes with little notice; however, making a significant impact on politicians from both parties will require mass action from students, teachers, workers, union members and concerned citizens. Please take time out of your day to attend the public hearing and let your voice be heard!
When: January 15th, 2009
1:30 pm
Where: House Hearing Rm A
John L. O'Brien Building
Olympia, WA
Directions: http://www.ga.wa.gov/visitor/direction.htm
http://www.ga.wa.gov/images/campus-map.pdf
*NOTE* For the second link look in the lower left-hand to locate the O'Brien Building.
Why: Your educational future depends upon it!
We have just learned the Washington State legislature is holding a public hearing, on January 15th, in regards to the Governor's proposed 2009-2011 operating budget for higher education. This is an opportunity to speak out against the budget cuts directly to Washington State legislators. We realize this comes with little notice; however, making a significant impact on politicians from both parties will require mass action from students, teachers, workers, union members and concerned citizens. Please take time out of your day to attend the public hearing and let your voice be heard!
When: January 15th, 2009
1:30 pm
Where: House Hearing Rm A
John L. O'Brien Building
Olympia, WA
Directions: http://www.ga.wa.gov/visitor/direction.htm
http://www.ga.wa.gov/images/campus-map.pdf
*NOTE* For the second link look in the lower left-hand to locate the O'Brien Building.
Why: Your educational future depends upon it!
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