Hunter
06/15/20
Student leaders from the University of Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa have issued a joint statement after the state legislature cut higher education budgets for the 2021 fiscal year.
The cuts, which total about $8 million, are part of the $7.79 billion budget passed by the Legislature that adjourned for the year on Sunday.
In the joint statement, the student leaders call the cuts “short-sighted and deeply disappointing” given the current economic crisis.
The statement goes on to say, “The cuts for Fiscal Year 2021 will be particularly harmful against the backdrop of 30 years of generational disinvestment. And at a time when courageous activists have exposed deep racial inequities in our society, it must be noted that these cuts will fall hardest on students of color… As student leaders, we meet with legislators every year and discuss the things that make Iowa’s public universities so special. They tell us how they value Iowa’s world-class universities and how much they want to invest in our futures. But the Iowa Legislature’s actions to further disinvest from students and further widen the gap in access to quality education reveals the truth. The state does not value students as an asset; they see us as an expense to be cut.”
This year’s session was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.