Clemson Student Leaders to Rally in Columbia

Clemson University Student Government leaders will be among those from other colleges and universities in South Carolina who will rally in Columbia Tuesday.

Approximately 100 Clemson students will meet with legislators at the statehouse to lobby against a proposed tuition cap.

Since June, Clemson’s state appropriation has been cut by nearly $38 million. Barker says Clemson has instituted mandatory furloughs, delay of much-needed construction projects and internal budget cuts, including cuts to academic units.

“Our current appropriation for education is about what it was in 1995,“ President James F. Barker told the school’s board of trustees on February 12.

“Adjusted for inflation, our current per-student support for education is 40 percent less than it was in 1973, and 45 percent less than it was in 1974. Our records do not indicate a time when support was this low.“

“Our goal is to let the General Assembly know that students from across the state oppose the imposition of a tuition cap and that we want higher education to be funded at an appropriate level,“ said Clemson student body President Callie Boyd, a senior health science major from Simpsonville.

“We are the ones impacted the most by the decision the General Assembly makes on higher education. We must have our voices heard,“ said Boyd in the written release.

Students from the University of South Carolina system, the College of Charleston, Winthrop University, South Carolina State University and Coastal Carolina University are expected to participate.