A3 • MARCH 4, 2010 • THE METROPOLITAN
NEWS
CAITLIN GIBBONS • NEWS EDITOR • cgibbon4@mscd.edu
Ritter commissions college fix
Affordability, access
center of funding
conversation
By Caitlin Gibbons
cgibbon4@mscd.edu
Higher education funding is on a
high-speed train heading toward the
2011-2012 cliff where the federal
stimulus money bridge is out and the
governor’s office is standing at the
bottom of the cliff surveying the situ-
ation.
“There are all sorts of discussions
out there about higher ed. funding and
what’s going to happen at a certain
point in time in the future, particularly
the concern about when recovery act
dollars go away,” Gov. Bill Ritter said.
Funding for higher education in
Colorado has been cut by more than
$300 million for the 2009-2010 bud-
get year, with more cuts expected to
RTD referendum date set for spring semester
Students to vote
on taking another
ride with bus pass
By Andrew Flohr-Spence
spencand@mscd.edu
Auraria students will vote this
spring on whether to keep their semes-
ter passes for bus and Light Rail, after
RTD announced an almost 30 percent
jump in the price.
Scheduled for March 31 and April
1, the student referendum will decide
whether the student fee for the transit
pass paid each semester will increase
from $39 to $61 beginning next fall,
for a contract with RTD totalling more
than $5 million.
The jump in price is a result of RTD
raising its general fares and approxi-
mately 12 percent more Auraria rid-
ers, according to information supplied
by the Student Advisory Committee to
the Auraria Board. RTD representa-
tives had not returned phone calls as
of press time.
“That they raise it so much at once
offends me as a conservative,” Metro
student senator Kailei Higginson said.
“But the value is still there…it’s still a
good deal,” Higginson said.
And a good deal it is. An equiva-
lent pass giving the owner unlimited
Denver service would cost more than
$160 per month, or more than $650
a semester. A monthly pass for only lo-
cal routes is approximately $70 each
month, or $280 a semester.
The reason that students get such
come before the 2010-2011 budget is
finalized.
The cuts have been offset by fed-
eral stimulus funds from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but
are being exhausted as the legislature
is trimming back funds further to bal-
ance the state budget.
Ritter has assembled a task force to
work on a master plan for higher edu-
cation in Colorado, with the primary
and immediate focus on finding a solu-
tion to funding.
Four subcommittees have been
formed to discuss: sustainability, tu-
ition and funding issues; mission and
governance, how many institutions
should there be in the state and how
should they serve students; pipeline,
the transition from K-12 education to
higher education; and accessibility.
Feb. 25, Ritter, Rico Munn, the
executive director of the Department
of Higher Education, Jim Pulsfot, the
chair of the Colorado Commission on
Ted Anderson, left, and Tyler Krofft stand while Denise Lund sits and reads on a crowded southbound
RTD Light Rail train March 1. Photo by Will Morgan • dmorga26@mscd.edu
a deal is that the cost is spread between
all students whether they ride or not.
RTD sets its price according to esti-
mates of how many students actually
use the pass, multiplied by the price
of a cash fare. The transit company
estimated Auraria students took more
than 2.8 million trips in 2009 on bus
and Light Rail.
SACAB, the council of student rep-
resentatives elected from each institu-
tion — Metro, UCD and CCD — is in
“Forget being qualified, or knowing anything.
Simply being a celebrity now confers instant
certitude, and a platform of authority. ”
- J. SEBASTIAN SINISI, INSIGHT on A8
THIS WEEK
EVENTS
Higher Education and Jim Lyons, the in Colorado.
3.4 “Sweatshop
co-chair of the steering committee
met to discuss the issues surrounding
“Not only will there not be any
new state support, but I think that it is
Wages and Third
World Workers: Are
higher education. a high possibility of an additional bud-
the Jobs Worth the
get cut in a year or two,” Jordan said.
Sweat?”
Tuition flexibility “And so, tuition will be the only source
Suffolk Professor
One idea being tossed around at of revenue we have for sustaining our-
Benjamin Powell
the capitol to address the issue of high- selves and growing our institution.”
discusses the effects
er education funding is to allow insti- Jordan said not only does he fore-
of sweatshops.
tutions to have tuition flexibility. see a decline in state support, but also
1 p.m.
“It’s important to understand tu- an increase in operating expenses for
Tivoli 320
ition is not tuition autonomy. Histori- the college in the form of rising util-
cally, there have been restrictions put
on tuition increases,” Ritter said.
ity bills and increases in classified staff
pay. Another factor to consider is set-
3.4 Global
Energy Challenge
He added the restrictions placed on ting aside part of a tuition increase for
School of Mines
increasing tuition are in place to pro- financial aid purposes.
Professor Roel
tect the affordability and accessibility “The question is, if you are set-
Snieder hosts seminar
for students, especially in the middle ting aside 20 percent of your tuition
on future of energy.
and low-income brackets. increase, which is what we have been
1 p.m.
The idea behind flexibility is to al- doing every year for financial aid, that
Tivoli Turnhalle
low institutions to set tuition rates in- means for every $100 you are raising,
dividually.
Metro President Stephen Jordan
you are setting aside $20 for financial
aid rather than operations,” Jordan
3.9 Student
election candidate
said he is in favor of tuition flexibility, said.
information forum
as are the rest of the college presidents Continued on A5>>
11 a.m.
Tivoli 307A
INDEX
INSIGHT ... A8
METROSPECTIVE ... B1
AUDIOFILES ... B6
SPORTS ... A10
TIMEOUT ... A14
WEATHER
3.4 • Partly cloudy
High: 54/Low: 29
3.5 • Chance of rain
High: 50/Low: 30
3.6 • Mostly cloudy
High: 54/Low: 27
3.7 • Chance of rain
High: 47/Low: 30
3.8 • Chance of snow
High: 41/Low: 26
3.9 • Mostly sunny
High: 39/Low: 24
3.10 • Partly cloudy
High: 43/Low: 29
By Kendell LaRoche
CORRECTIONS
In the Feb. 25 issue of the
charge of conducting the RTD fee ref- gets approved. Metropolitan, on page B2, the
erendum, which, like all student fees “I guess I would just suck it up and Irrawaddy Delta was mis-
according to the handbook, must be pay either way,” she said. “I don’t like spelled.
approved by students. driving.” On page A7, the date was
“I like the pass…it’s really a good James Julian, a UCD engineering incorrect in the caption. The
deal,” Metro chemistry junior Abby sophomore, uses the pass every day correct date was Feb. 19.
Ridgeway said. Ridgeway rides the and said he will be voting to keep it.
Light Rail 30 minutes from home al- “It’s really a great pass…being able to To notify The Metropolitan of
most every day she has classes and ride anywhere on Light Rail or bus,” an error in any of our reports,
uses the time to do homework. Even Julian said. “But if it got too expen- please contact Editor-in-Chief
if she lost the pass, she wouldn’t start sive or I had to buy a monthly pass … I Dominic Graziano at
driving, but she said she hopes the fee would probably just drive,” he said. dgrazia1@mscd.edu