For Immediate Release
Contact: Analiese Eicher (608) 449-5218
Seth Hoffmiester (715) 579-2609

No Mention of UW, Again
UW Students Respond to Walker’s State of the State Address

Wisconsin – For the second year in a row, Governor Walker failed to address or even mention higher education in Wisconsin in his State of the State Address.

“Today was my first day of my economics class, and today I learned that government investing in education is a direct investment in our economy,” said Seth Hoffmeister, President of United Council of UW Students and UW-Stevens Point student. United Council is a student run, non-partisan organization representing over 151,000 students on 21 University of Wisconsin campuses.

In these challenging economic times, it is appropriate for the governor’s remarks to revolve around jobs and building the state’s economy, but ignoring Wisconsin’s economic engine, the University of Wisconsin System, after cutting over $250 million in the 2011-2013 Biennial Budget Governor Walker has made it clear that investing in higher education is not a priority to grow Wisconsin’s future.

“What business or company is going to want to come here to Wisconsin if we lack the educated workforce needed? How can Wisconsin be open for business if there’s not enough students graduating to work for companies who do?” Hoffmeister added. “The future of jobs in Wisconsin could be anything at this point, but the reality is that companies need college graduates. We can’t produce college graduates if we don’t make higher education a priority. Funding for higher education is necessary to keep moving Wisconsin forward.”

“It is hard for students to believe that the Governor’s reforms are working when it is taking them longer to graduate, when they are graduating with more debt, and when they do graduate, facing a job market that has been in decline for six straight months,” added United Council Government Relations Director Analiese Eicher. “Students were optimistic at this time last year, but with the massive budget cuts leading to classes, programs and student services being cut on UW campuses, that optimism has been hard to retain.”

Higher education is not a luxury, but a necessity in getting Wisconsin back to work. We ask that you, Governor Walker, keep higher education accessible and affordable and keep it funded.

The people of Wisconsin value and have a real ownership over the high quality, public university system that drives the state’s economy and sustains it’s communities. Without affordable access to higher education Wisconsin will not be able to educate the future workers and leaders of the state.

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United Council of UW Students advocate for students on issues of higher education
pertaining to value, quality and the student experience.