Lisa Grab for SGA President Election Videos

"WE HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU ABOUT THIS ISSUE... AND IT HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY IGNORED!"

On February 2nd, Students for a Democratic Society mic checked the Spring semester's first Board of Trustees meeting. The Board once again conducted their meeting in an undemocratic fashion by not allowing students from the public to speak and ignoring the letters they sent in (see the posts below).

The 10+ students who attended this meeting expressed their frustrations by yelling such things as, "STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO SPEAK AT RUTGERS MEETINGS!" So why can't students speak at Montclair?

"WE ARE UNDER THE IMPRESSION... THAT THE ADMINISTRATORS... ARE ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR REPUTATIONS (and their wallets)... AND NOT WHAT THE STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY!" If they were truly concerned about what the students have to say, then why have they not properly addressed our question as to why students cannot speak at these meetings. President Susan Cole has merely stated that the way this Board has conducted their meetings has been the same way for decades. This is just a pathetic excuse, not a proper response. It has been long overdue for a change. As student fees and tuition continue to make up a larger part of Montclair State Unviersity's budget, students deserve more representation and more of a say as to how their money is spent. Therefore, it does not make sense that state law only permits 2 Student Trustees (only 1 of which can vote) along with 10+ out of touch Trustees who are bureaucratically appointed by the governor to serve on the Board.

President Cole has shown no signs of taking an initiative to allow students to speak at Board meetings. As proof, here is a biased, pro-administration press release about the mic check by the Montclarion, Montclair State University's school newspaper: http://www.themontclarion.org/archives/3743392 The Montclarion has refused to acknowledge the obvious slant of this article as the letters to the editor from SDS members were rejected (as they always are).

"AND DR. SUSAN COLE... REFUSED TO COMMENT INITIALLY... TILL THE NEWS GOT OUT... IT WASN'T UNTIL STUDENTS SPREAD... THE WORD THAT SHE PRETENDED TO CARE!"

In addition to lambasting the Board for not allowing students to speak at these meetings, President Cole was directly criticized for her handling of recent death threats made to MSU's LGBT community. The mic check was led by Alan Akins, the President of SPECTRUMS - the main LGBT group on campus. When the death threats against the LGBT community were first reported, President Cole considered it to be a non-issue. Days later, Akins sent out a mass e-mail informing the student body of what had transpired. He also mentioned how the administration had chosen to not respond to the death threats. When the administration found out about Akins' e-mail and that the media would be coming to campus the following day to report on the death threats, President Cole panicked and sent out a mass e-mail of her own to finally express her concern about the issue. It took her long enough to respond. Akins and SDS made it known to President Cole that her initial ignorance would not be tolerated and not go unnoticed.

An alternate angle of the mic check which was recently uploaded can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIwkdFOnE2M

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting 3-13-12

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met at Montclair State University on Tuesday, March 13th to listen to public input about the 2013 proposed state budget from various organizations and individuals. 

I attended with 5 other students and spoke on behalf of New Jersey United Students (NJUS) about the dangers of student debt and the importance of accessible education for our future.

To read Dr. Cole’s remarks on my speech, go here. 

Below is the speech I gave: 

To the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee:

Hello, thank you for coming to Montclair State University and I appreciate you taking the time to listen to what I have to say. 

My name is Lisa Grab, and I am a student here at Montclair State University and the Vice Chair of New Jersey United Students. I am here today to speak on behalf of New Jersey United Students (NJUS). NJUS is a statewide coalition of students from public universities and colleges that represents students on issues such as student debt and tuition hikes. 

As you should know, student debt will reach one trillion dollars this April. William Brewer from the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) said: “This could very well be the next debt bomb for the US economy.” Student debt is significantly greater than credit card debt, and the student debt bubble is predicted to lead to the next recession. 

The decisions you make directly affect students and are a direct cause of the student debt crisis. The past few years, the state has not been helping students enough.  

I’d like to share a personal story with you. Although my experience is not the worst, almost all students can relate on some level.

When I was in high school, I always thought I would be able to afford my education. Now because of the recession, my two self employed, hardworking parents have given all they have to help pay for my education—and it is not nearly enough. Now, they sacrificed any hope of their retirement, and they’ve become slaves to their jobs just to survive. I am now all alone to pay for my education. 

The fact that I, along with millions of other students, have to pay back almost a trillion dollars in loans shows that our higher education system is a broken system. We, the students, are the future of the world. We are supposed to realize the values of America—equality, democracy, all of those nice words. But what do those words mean when students are gradating and entering the real world further behind than ever? What does the “American Dream” mean when lower income students are no longer able to consider higher education as an option? Society is basically telling them they are worthless. We need to change that, because we, obviously, do not think any student or child—regardless of race or class—is worthless.

As I briefly stated earlier, NJUS is a statewide coalition of students from public universities and colleges in New Jersey. We are living proof that students do care and are not passively apathetic to the governments’ decisions. The idea that students don’t care is only an illusion. It is true that not a lot of students are here today, but that is because many are busy working one, two, or sometimes three jobs to help pay for their education and living expenses. 

Funding for higher education is a public good and necessity for society. We will not stop until higher education is accessible to all. Knowledge is non-tangible and therefore should not be commodified. You cannot deny that students are the future. We should not have the burden of student debt--that previous generations have not had--clouding over our future. 

The less funding that is given to higher education, the less potential can be achieved for this nation. Taking away money from education is like taking away the cure to cancer, the thousands of new technologies that have yet to be discovered, or the solutions to our environmental crisis. Students are an investment. 

Thank you.