Every on campus union joined us to canvass over 300 students during our move-in day informational picket. Uniformly, every single student and parent we talked to were excited to call Kotek and Cudd to stop the cuts.
“We are the heart of an already vibrant city. President Cudd wants a vibrant campus, and we know the parents and the students who have come here want to see a vibrant campus and city too. The heart of all of that is a better PSU,” said PSU-AAUP President Bill Knight to the crowd.
“Can we get there by tearing down our programs and laying off our most dedicated teachers and advisers? Can we get there by investing in pessimism, by courting despair, by doing a dismal dance with austerity? No.
We can only get there by committing ourselves to the students and mission of this place. We can only get there by investing, caring, by hoping, by having faith that knowledge can serve the city, by seeing clearly that Portland State is crucial to the future of Oregonians.
We have to demand more. Ask for more. And expect more. Call President Cudd. Call your state Senators and Representatives. Call Governor Kotek.”
See OPB coverage of Move-In Day and the Board of Trustees meeting where the BoT approved a budget that includes $35M in cuts here. Share this flyer with students to help them plug into the organizing for the November 20th Board of Trustees meeting. It’s the second to last Board meeting before cuts are likely announced in February. Governor Kotek’s office number is (503-378-4582) and a call script to ask her to raise revenue is here.