Recently, the LSU Student Government released its second annual Higher Education Report Card. The HERC “graded” our state legislators based on certain bills they authored and voted for or against, but the inclusion of some bills and exclusion of others call LSU Student Government’s true motive into question. This is not a partisan issue. It is a student issue. We elect our Student Government officials to lobby for us, yet it seems they’re lobbying for Governor Edwards instead.
The HERC makes University students appear uninformed. The report was assembled by Student Government members, but their actions reflect the student body as a whole. This would be fine if the majority of the student body leaned Democrat and wished to punish legislators who did not vote for tax increases, but we do not believe this is the case. This is a higher education report card, not a tax increase or tuition increase report card, and yet, of 28 pieces of “legislation that mattered,” 22 bills (yes, 79 percent of the legislation considered) were tax bills that in no way directly related to funding the University.
Of the six remaining bills considered, one proposed allowing college management boards to dictate tuition rates independent of the state legislature. This would certainly guarantee a tuition increase at LSU. Would that really conform to “the needs of the students in the state”? Where are the revenue allocation bills in this report?
Certain aspects of legislation, including committee votes, were conspicuously omitted. For example, why was HB 69 — the bill with an amendment to fully fund TOPS — deemed too “cumbersome” to be included in the report by the LSU Student Government Director of Policy? Student Government president Zach Faircloth voiced his disdain for a session ending with “a partially funded TOPS,” calling it “not ideal for Louisiana’s students,” yet HB 69 was not considered in this report. He also declared that it was time for state officials to stop holding education hostage as a “political pawn.” The irony in this statement is not lost. LSU Student Government would do well to avoid becoming a “political pawn” itself by “grading” members almost entirely on their votes to raise taxes.
Imagine a final exam that is worth 79 percent of your course grade, and imagine each facet of your final presenting you with a dichotomic decision: one option that satisfies your policy convictions, and one that does not. LSU College Republicans wish to thank the legislators who voted to fully fund LSU and TOPS and against tax increases, despite the fact that all of them received failing grades on a report card from a “non-partisan” institution.
LSU Student Government needs to take precaution to ensure that future HERCs do not become something by which legislators can show commitment to fiscal maturity by receiving a failing grade on the report card. At a time in which many of our elected officials speak frequently of “putting Louisiana first,” we are thankful that we have legislators in government willing to stand up for aspects of our state that are not governmental: families, students, and businesses. We share Student Government’s aspirations for the HERC. Unfortunately, this year’s HERC just didn’t make the grade.
Hannah Butler and Michael Dalman
LSU College Republicans President and Treasurer