A small group of students and faculty assembled Thursday at the flagpole on the Parade Ground to rally against budget cuts and decreases in state funding.Dubbed the “National Day of Action for Public Education,” students across the country rallied against budget cuts to higher education.Five hundred protesters marched across various campuses, according to reports, while about 20 students and faculty gathered on the University’s campus at noon.”There is a terrible case of apathy on campus,” said Peter Nictakis, theatre freshman. “Increased tuition and loss of instructors will be really felt in the fall, but by then, it will be too late.”Nictakis attended to represent the University chapter of “Students Against Sweatshops” and held a sign reading, “Hey Bobby J, How many jobs did you cut today?”The gathering was organized by the “SAVE LSU” facebook group, which has more than 6,100 members. “I read about the cuts and didn’t pay much attention until I got back from break and the theatre department told us about the cuts we are going to see,” Nictakis said. “It needs to be real to students.””SAVE LSU” administrator and English instructor Tania Nyman blamed students’ lack of knowledge on the low attendance.”Students need to be made painfully aware their tuition is going up,” Nyman said.Gov. Bobby Jindal introduced a plan last week to allow the University to raise tuition and fees approximately $520 next year.”A public education is supposed to be available to the public [and] they are supposed to be able to afford it,” Nyman said. “Right now higher education is beoming unaffordable.”Jindal’s plan wouldn’t solve the overall problem facing higher education, Nyman said.”I think it is a distraction from the source of our problems,” Nyman said. “The source of the problems is a lack of funding for the services the government is supposed to provide its people.”Raising state income taxes on those making more than $80,000 per year would solve the state’s funding problem, Nyman said.”My husband’s salary is included,” Nyman said. “Just so they know I’m not just a teacher saying the rich people should pay. My proposal not only helps LSU. It helps the people of Louisiana in the long run.” The group has about 1,000 signatures on a petition requesting Gov. Jindal reform the tax structure and the way budget cuts are allocated, Nyman said.State budget cuts are allocated mostly on higher education and health care because of constitutional provisions.Chancellor Michael Martin said he would support tuition increases. Martin also said he plans to propose some program cuts pre-empting the legislative session.Sophia Kunen, anthropology senior, disagrees with the chancellor’s approach to solving the problem.”We are going to pay more for less,” Kunen said. “It seems like they are not looking to far into the future.”
 
 
 
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