Hundreds of University of Texas at Austin students are expected to descend upon the State Capitol Tuesday, March 22 to kick off the Invest in Texas Legislative Day 2011.
Students dressed in “Invest in Texas” T-shirts will walk from the Student Activity Center (SAC 2.302) to the Capitol’s south steps to hold a press conference concerning proposed higher education budget cuts. The march will begin at noon with the press conference scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. Students will spend the afternoon attending hearings and meeting with lawmakers.
Student Government, Senate of College Councils, Graduate Student Assembly and 25 other student organizations have joined together to create the non-partisan Invest in Texas campaign. The campaign is designed to advocate for students during the 82nd legislative session.
Current budget proposals slash financial aid programs by $381 million, reduce the number of students receiving TEXAS Grants — the state’s main financial aid program — by half and cut 11.1 percent ($87.9 million) from state and federal money allotted to the university.
The Invest in Texas campaign focuses on key student issues such as preventing disproportionate budget cuts, providing competitive benefits to university employees, providing health insurance to graduate fellows and allowing the university to determine its campus gun policy.
