the life a graduate student what cuts to
higher education mean
for the older student he won only
wealthy people to be able to go to
graduate school because those are the
people whose families are supporting
them
from back home like if that's what you
want and
be honest about it state lawmakers meet
with students but will it make a
difference in the governor's budget
proposal
they fear that given what I've heard
from those were behind closed doors for
the budget together
universities are going to come out it's
very well
proposed budget cuts to higher education
striking a chord with graduate students
throughout the state
at the University of Arizona a
grassroots organization called the Uwais
organizing committee is pulling together
in hopes of calling attention to what
they say
are low living wages here's a story up
bro clover
a graduate student in the gender and
women's studies program
I'm from Santa Cruz Calif I was working
and started doing graduate school
in San Francisco I went to University in
the time when prime
UC Santa Cruz and and majored in
American Studies and are
I think actually some I career
aspirations changed a lot after had a
daughter
I think I just became more kinda
empowered in the idea that I could
contribute and I can make a difference
and I've always loved being in the
classroom like colleges where
is where I was politicized and we're
kind of learned
I think to kinda critically intervening
in situations that are
better social that are shared you know
on and
so I wanted I wanted to contribute to
that I wanted to keep going
and that's why I applied to on gender
women's studies programs and
and hope to be a college professor
Arizona the school that mean it offers
so so this is the place and it kind of
it am in some other studies that I was
doing this program has had addressed in
transnational feminism and
on and that's prime interest turning to
social movement history and
I teach that in the classroom or that's
my top when I was able to develop my own
classed
1 this is my sixth here so my main task
right now is working on my dissertation
and I've been working on
and I've done some archival research I
have a little bit more to do
visiting archives this spring and what
I'm doing is kind of drying out social
movement history's mysteries the
feminist movement fat
haven't really being addressed yet
in in academic and and it really in
other materials
kinda like lost all pieces that I've
been able to find so how's school
the afternoon pending are
our time and
I would say it's and it's pretty common
your site to come with me maybe two
that's one thing we were talking about
was how many meetings she's been to
I mean there's constant me extra stuff
that I'm doing so yeah I try to kind of
work that in
but and so if I'm going committee
one-on-one
sometimes bus stop by my place an
in set up a meeting at the office or I'm
not exactly with me
times the meeting happening are you back
on them
him to get back on and my family and on
the road
life is a graduate student its kinda
frazzled you know
but there's a lot of different stuff
going on science keep a calendar
other times it feels like you know for
our
our summers are winter breaks often you
know %ah make a plan to stay
will this ten days I'm really just gonna
stay home and I'm just gonna be writing
I'm really getting working I'm I'm not
gonna do
all extraneous work if I can
Amaral are put into smaller chunks and
that is challenging with the kid so it
had to like work on that with my
daughter
she's used to see me where and
a lot of times I'll just build in
Savannah breaking our day
but I'll have her doing activities or it
could be a playdate with a friend or
something she was somewhere else
or even like right now right there in
the room they're watching the Jets and
I'll do that from maybe an hour I'll do
something and I'll say well let's go
take a walk
you know so I have to be a little bit
more like multitasking
maybe that some students are but its you
know on some level it's not that
different from being a working mom in
other ways
I think that a lot of
were or a working parent who is really
in you know spending much time to get a
lot of people have to work out you know
flexible job so it's kinda like that I
don't think that it's made to be
it's not need to be that from me rate
it's not really need to be something
that everyone can do
my own departments concerned that
they're not going to be able to offer
all the graduate students jobs next year
so they've already told the students
like me you're at a more senior level
to be seriously seeking every option for
me
you know this has been a plan for a
while to be looking at it I guess the
question is
if I can get the job in applying for
right now it kinda another fitting
position: doesn't come up
you know I look for a look for agitating
work for share
a look to see and number of colleges if
I could do I'm so mad Genting
it those things fall through is there a
jam in the university that I could find
like teaching
on it wouldn't even have to be in my
department you know teaching at
basically as an adjunct and elsewhere in
the University in my mind I can't have a
tiered
list stove what would be ideal and then
what comes down from that
and really none of them are completely
ideal here
hear that word just students like
water the assumptions that come along
with that d1 only wealthy people to be
able to go to graduate school because
those are the people whose families are
supporting them
from back home like if that's what you
want and
be honest about it mean if we're gonna
be we are students and your workers
be are actually workers make the
University run
we need to be fairly compensated there
needs to be a realistic picture
for how graduate students are gonna make
it through that five years I guess if I
was a student who was really thinking
financially principally financially
I don't think that I would be in this
profession and within this profession I
wouldn't be in this field
having said that I don't wanna live in
poverty
and and I don't want the people around
me to do so
have seen a number of teachers I'm
leave the profession at a necessity this
is definitely me
not something that you would take on if
he didn't love it and want to do it
not in my field
a handful of state lawmakers say they
are committed to fighting for students
in the state legislature
one of them is House Minority Leader
Eric Meyer
my colleague Christopher conover met
with the house democrat on Thursday
at the capitol
past budget cuts total about three
hundred million dollars to
the university's we've made also pretty
massive cuts the community colleges
this budget includes at least the
governor's budget includes another $75
million in cuts
to universities in a fifty percent cut
to the community colleges
and the result a bad as we've seen
tuition increases you know when we
make these types of cuts there's nowhere
for the universities to go
but you know increase class size for
these programs and increase tuition so
Arizona has seen the largest tuition
increases
have almost any statement country I'm
which
is in the right direction to go if we
want our kids to be prepared for the
work force
I'm you know we have to use our colleges
and community colleges to
to train them for the jobs that are
available in our economy
Board of Regents is indicated as hat
for university presidents they do not
wanna do
tuition increases this coming year
I think they're off the table
we won't right know for sure until it
actually happens but they certainly
appear off the table
how do you was a member of the
legislature work with a budget and pass
a budget knowing that the universities
are going to increase which means this
is going to be a real cut I
know it's going to be real cut I mean if
you don't increase tuition you have to
find savings elsewhere in seventy five
million dollars is a lot to say
particularly if you've already made cuts
so if
there are going to be tuition increases
which I hope there's not i mean it's
gotten so expensive for middle-class
Americans to
arizonans to send their kids to college
I'm
they're gonna have to do things like
increase class size when I was on the
school board
in Scottsdale it's exactly the same
thing we have to do
we wanted to keep keep functioning
within the budget
we have the same number kids
and a lower amount of revenue coming
into the district we had increase class
size
and reduce programs and change schedules
I'm
and find efficiencies I mean we started
turning the air conditioning of
soon as school was out I'm changed our
bus routes
I'm universities have done a lot of
those things
they're also hoping that if they get
some regulatory reform
they may be able to make changes I'm
some other professors aren't so happy
about that potentially because it'll
change that pension plans
for them so we'll see how that goes the
budget as a whole
we're facing potentially what is
projected to be a billion-dollar
shortfall obviously the the low-hanging
fruit the easy cuts %uh
long been taken care of in state
government you remember the minority
but still a member at the legislature
active in the budget process
how do you cut a billion dollars out of
the budget
or deal with the billion dollar hole
maybe it's not all cuts
in a realistic responsible way well
what r caucasus talked about doing is a
work in a bipartisan way and
the way we have in the past two years to
get things pass that are good for the
state
second way is to look at everything
everything's gotta be on the table on
whether that's tax credits
sentencing reform for prisons you know
we're gonna spend
another 100 million over the next three
years in this budget
and prison cells private prison cells
and my mind I'd rather educate and
incarcerate
we need to look at that other states
have done sentencing reform that has
allowed them
had to change the way they people on
probation
sentencing reform so that they don't
spend that money and prisons and the
those are long term contract it's a
20-year contracts gonna cost
about 1.45 billion dollars over those
twenty years for the prisons I'd rather
spend that
I our universities I'm so there's a
whole bunch of things that
now we could look at some others have
been taken off the table by the governor
if you
I wants a bipartisan solution I think
we'll have to negotiate
what will stay and what will go and and
how will get there talking about prisons
Sheriff Bob you share for pile both come
out
to the surprise of some people's a
private prisons are not what
Arizona needs yet there in the budget
were you surprised to hear
to very Republican County Sheriff's with
that was some higher profiles come out
and say no to the governor well I think
all of us are concerned about our
taxpayer dollars are spent
they have found ways within their prison
system and they have some empty cells
and that could be used to incarcerate
someone the people that are going to
prison
and so I think we should be looking at
those solutions and
I think they'd don't wanna see our tax
dollars wasted dislike I don't and
so you know they have offered some
solutions up hopefully
director Ryan and the governor will look
at those and see if they're viable
and can save arizonans tax dollars or
keep dollars in our state rather than
going to private prisons
looking at the budget be at higher
education K-twelve
any parts %uh the budget as he said it's
very complicated
it's a big document when you saw the
governor's suggestion
his budget when you saw what has begun
moving through
committee so anything good in there
anything you like yeah
oh yeah there's there's good things and
they're a.m. there's a lot of things I
don't like
I mean I would make different choices
but they're things for
protecting children to disabilities
looking there were no cuts to and the
Department of Child Services there's
so there's things in there where certain
group of people that are very vulnerable
are protected
I'm what I didn't like was the the cuts
education and the cuts to health care
provider cut to health care 3 percent
provider
cut will save the state about thirty
million dollars but will lose two
hundred million dollars in federal
matching funds
and that world impact the hospital's
interstate
particular in rural areas make it more
difficult for them to operate
the cuts 2k12 I'm you know it's about a
thirteen million dollar cut 2k12
we should be going the other direction
we're very have four billion dollars in
cuts to work a 12 system and when I was
on the school board
had a layup hundreds teachers and 40
percent over administrators
or thereabouts 0 I'm you know we're in a
pretty deep hole
and we need it start working our way out
that's our class sizes come down our
graduation rates increase our kids are
prepared to go on to college
assistant Senate minority leader Steve
Farley met with graduate students this
week
hearing first-hand what their concerns
are here again is Christopher Conover
the bad news for people care about
education Arizona is that the cuts will
probably be more severe than what the
governor has proposed
my understanding is there they're
already won the governor's budget came
out
they had some revenue projections and
caseload projections and school
enrollment projections that were much
more optimistic
then the legislative joint Budget
Committee
so considering that
the person with the most experience in
either the Senate the house or the
governor's office is now senator pigs
I think he'll be the piracy and I me
with every Wednesday we talk with them
it's pretty clear that
they're going to be cutting more than
the governor suggested
and the odds-on favorite for the place
where the cuts will come from will be
the university's with
the the university's they've taken big
cuts over the last couple of years
more cuts coming we graduate students up
around the capital today
met with you yes is their message being
received at all or are they just getting
to spend a day maybe two or three days
over the session walking the halls
it's being received by me it's being
received by my colleagues
on the democratic side sadly I think the
people the majority here
art do not value education as the key
economic generator for the state that it
is
some other think I didn't go to college
I didn't need the help I don't want to
give all this money the spoiled brat
kids in some cases ever actually
those words being used I'll but
for most people who have a more nuanced
thinking about
economic development we understand that
the university's
in our state were the original economic
development tool
and they still are that's what we're
training the people to become the
high-wage
boys in the future so the businesses
come here and find great people hire
that's where we're bringing the the new
entrepreneurs
who will create great discoveries while
they're at the university's
and then bring those into new businesses
with new industries
we having the thought of yet they could
be headquartered here in Arizona that he
is
how you create economic development
jobs in a good economy in the state and
when you cut back on universities
you're potentially cutting back on your
entire future possibility
that's a problem it's a big problem and
I i
that standing up strongly against it but
I fear that given what I've heard from
those were behind closed doors for the
budget together universities are going
to come out of this very well
if the a Senate pager house page comes
to you and says
center for leon thinking about going to
to to the University for my
undergraduate degree be a
University of Arizona Arizona State an
AU
or maybe four a graduate degree I'm
about
to finish up my time as an undergraduate
can you recommend
that they stay in-state go to one at the
bar or every week and because we have
amazing universities here in this state
they're doing incredible things in an
environment in which they are not being
supported by the legislature the
governor
and I i that that this testament to the
kind of
administrative power and teaching power
that they have
so it's still there still excellent
institutions we really put all of them
at risk
if we continue to cut year after year
reporting the buildings at risk we don't
have building renewal funds that are in
there so there's
h-back systems and replacement this
group that
patching there's all sorts of things
that need to get done
and we're not paying for and I don't
wanna
I don't buy into that whole line to hear
from the majority for the governor that
we just don't have them
the fact is we have made choices
to spend our money on large corporate
giveaway
at tax cuts that that
it most gotta stay we have no guarantee
is that they have produced
any kind of job job return any kind of
economic return
we're just giving way to moneyweek fact
we've we've given up more than $4
billion dollars a year
in revenues since 1990 in tax cuts alone
and we have another 883 million that
haven't even phased in yet
over the next three years we can make
the choice
thank Governor Brewer said we should
suspend those future tax cuts
she said on her way out of office
unfortunately governors he doesn't want
to have a conversation
and certainly Center big doesn't have a
conversation a regular gallon we need to
look at how we can have sustainable
revenues
to invest in the stuff we need to
continue growing because if we don't
a low tax climate is an all you need
to be able to develop
the graduate students visited the state
Capitol on Thursday and say they plan to
travel to the capital
every week to talk one-on-one with
lawmakers Christopher conover has more
on their story
we're getting cuter sup 2 /sup reception
so far the day
here in our concerns about how budget
cuts could affect graduate business
students in particular but also the
universities in of the state of Arizona
so one example that we've given
one dollar spent represents a six dollar
return on investments over cutting lots
of money from our universities
we're gonna read dues the return on
investment so we're very concerned about
that
with I'll lawmakers in particular they
get lots of people coming through their
door
usually lined up outside pretty much
hope for you that they'll listen to you
guys are up here day maybe two
going all such hope bill you'll get
actually
listen to I will I'll is a doubt my
dad's quote
my dad says the only practical way to
live is to be positive
so we have to be positive we have to be
hopeful that our efforts and our efforts
last week and next week in the following
weeks as we said it's a message that
house case is very important I mean you
invest it is
is a good one healthy the message gets
through for a lot to really good people
that are I know in these
these holes if the cuts go through
as they're written what do you see
happening at UA and frankly and colleges
the other the other two in a statement
really you I want to see happen
well I you probably have a lot of staff
with this their positions hours in
Stafford St take on lot more
I may be graduate assistants to really
teach about 35 percent of offers and
secure courses
at Universal Arizona they might be asked
to do a little bit more I'm so
the people Tuesday that the more work
and as far as more work
you wonder about how well one graduate
student for example
teach you know more students from places
like Phoenix and the rest to the state
so
a discussion about overall quality of
the education with the
with the concern of the overall quality
based on
cuts in the past these potential
likely cuts some level this year as
graduate student finish up you know new
students coming through in the spring
and says to you hey I'm thinking about
going here can
can you tell 'em the outcome what number
three universal them
well I mean I'm bias nearly three hours
a night is the outcome you're going with
10 top-10
20 top programs the United States by any
ranking the top one percent interest in
the world
that's not going to go away but the more
we cut hard it is to keep those things
up so I think the
issues about these budget cuts it its
competitiveness issue
do we want to have the best graduate
assistants come to our universities and
we can offer them
some the most competitive rates as
graduate assistants were not get the
best
when I can keep the best I think these
cuts it to a competitor business issues
so are you guys the
message last week message next week you
gonna be back a yeah
so I'll be back next week on Tuesday me
with something the governor's office
I'll be back every week for as many
weeks is we need to to share some that's
a message I will as the greatest your
body president but hopefully
lot to graduate students from the
university was on a about 12 here today
will come
and speak on behalf these issues
the buzz know if my colleague Chris for
conover increased her we should note
that you did spend some time yesterday
trying to reach republicans
in the Higher Education Committee not
much luck but again this is not a
partisan issue
this isn't a partisan issue every year
when you go back and look at the budget
debates
over to the the University there are
plenty of republicans who say no we need
to give money more money to the
university's we don't need to cut up
so it's not necessarily a partisan
debate the reality is we're a billion
dollars in the hole
and that money has to come from
somewhere
how you make up that whole doubt is the
debate do you do it all through cuts do
you do it through
what are called revenue increases what
you and I call tax increases
or some combination thereof and that's
where the philosophical partisan debate
begins
and the students also hoping to get some
time with a Republican so they can have
their story heard
they are when we spoke with them
yesterday they
did me with the at least one Republican
yesterday
former Senate President Steve Pearce who
is a still a member of the senate
and has always been a big supporter of
the university's and in the coming weeks
are going to go back and try and meet
with other Republicans or other members
of the legislature in general
as the process moves are also some big
news happening this week at the Capitol
die and I was a superintendent of public
instruction what's the story there
the story or she fired two members the
the Board of Education she
did not say at the time really while why
she fired them this happen on Wednesday
on Thursday
the governor Doug Ducey reversed to the
firings
and that has set off a firestorm Douglas
and a
very strongly worded letter back to the
governor accusing him of cronyism
taking care of corporate the entities
that have backed him
and and in that letter she said the
reason they were fired as they were
supporters liberal supporters have
common core
which she campaigned very strongly
against where this all goes is this just
a very quick dust-up
that will settle in the two
them all work out their issues Douglas
and do see
or is this the beginning love and even
more rocky relationship will have to see
all right christopher look forty report
next week to see how this sort of
flares up if you will markers for
conover thank you so much
and now first or you don't hear every
day and Illinois woman travel to Tucson
to recover a long lost family heirloom
her father's world war two uniform
it was sitting in the home of former
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
is amazing that we're gonna be down here
and we were able to pick it up and meet
mark in
and Gabby and it was just real privilege
infection
such an honor to have me your uniform
their his mom
a cave Kathy
this this uniformity sound somewhere
interest United where
we think you're yes creatures wilder's
peapod you know she notices and even
site
it was printed at seven years ago done
done the
internet defined who it belonged
sound good but the 1i
founded he the belt few months ago
I said we'll all be where she lost the
uniform live with them
look and see if English fine because
really
eventually and them you
yeah and you know those 6
you know exciting to see here with you
know his name on it
you know LR Leroy McCaskill on
United States Navy in very good
condition thing
when debbie's mom found that
uniformes restore eventually she noticed
that has a
name of a sailor in it and you know to
find the seller's family and and give it
back to him is
you notes something nice we can do I
know if my grandfather's uniform was out
there somewhere I'd love them
that we misplaced the uniform somewhere
in the house and showed up a few months
ago
so we looked again and we found
you know the obituary for the better
with somebody's name in it we felt that
obligation to try to
figure out who it belonged to I was just
in shock I just dislike Obama like
goodness you know on
we move my mom and dad closer to us and
about ten years ago and I booked for his
uniform is weird
cleaning out their house and it wasn't
there and I was so disappointed
we have no connection here saw him I
said gone from another source torch with
your store whatever
we lived in Chicago where entire life so
I think I was just in shock and I
my heart was just for joy he didn't you
know do anything really really dangerous
he worked
as an alum when I attrition in our
aviation a
aviation electricians and he and she
worked in a little harm
electronic on things that the plane
ominous plaintiff lucrative
Honolulu into the home the home
Pacific the daily fly home Monday is the
day
will be arm honoring him for his on
Senate year that going to happen we've
got a spare bedroom at home with the
memorabilia about World War two when
are both over fathers and I'm gonna
build a display case
to put this uniform M so we can we can
chill
I wish that he is alive if you were
alive he'd be 90 in April
I wish you the year to come down with
Feldman know something he would have
been so honored
he my dad was very loyal but he's very
humble man so
I'm to find out that someone went out of
their way to find us to give a uniform
that would have been something that
you know him really been blessed by
itself thank you
I'm just forever grateful to any Gabby
in tonight for
what they've done for us
and that's our program thanks for
joining us
for all of us in Arizona public media
and them