Aggrieved UConn student government president Mason Holland declares state budget apocalypse, condemns Lamont’s privilege, gated Greenwich community. Says governor treats university as “afterthought.” Calls for student walkout Wednesday.
University of Connecticut student government leader Mason Holland has had enough of Governor Ned Lamont’s budget. Holland was reacting to UConn President Maric’s criticism of Lamont’s budget proposal, unveiled Wednesday. Maric complained that Lamont’s budget falls far short of what UConn will need to sustain itself and meet its obligations. Maric was particularly unhappy at the rising of cost imposed on the school by labor agreements. The new president may regret that her predecessors chose expensive peace with politically powerful public employee unions over fiscal prudence.
Maric may want to steer clear of complaints about UConn Health. It has tested the wizardry and manipulations of a generation of state budget directors. The state cannot give it away. No private entity coping with market forces would have kept it open through decades of deficits.
While Maric issued an ill-judged threat to cease scheduling sporting events at the XL Center in Hartford, Holland is organizing students to participate in a budget protest at the Capitol–food and transportation provided–next Wednesday. It’s a gamble–if students do not turn out in large numbers legislators may conclude they are not nearly as angry as Holland, whose missile included everything but a reference to a lily white Greenwich country club and the founder of the Lamont family fortune’s role as dictator Benito Mussolini’s accomplice in imposing fascism on Italy nearly a century ago. But there’s still time.
Holland should not be surprised if he receives a conciliatory call from Lamont as he tries to lower the temperature–and ask if the student leader knows anyone who would like to take UConn off the governor’s hands.
Here is Holland’s geschrei and call to action:
Dear UConn,
Many of you may have seen President Maric’s email earlier today about shortfalls in state funding to the University. As students, we once again will face the brunt of those shortfalls while Governor Ned Lamont sits on a record level budget surplus.
For those of you who do not know, the Governor of Connecticut automatically assumes the position of President of the UConn Board of Trustees when elected. While in the past Governors have consistently taken this role seriously, Lamont has treated it as nothing more than an afterthought. We have not seen him. We have not engaged with him, and it is not from a lack of trying on our end. This academic year, the Governor has not met once with the students that he has a legal and fiduciary responsibility to— unless you count that one time when he came for his own reelection campaign, gave a speech, and then immediately left without engaging with a single one of us.
When the Governor delivered his Budget speech this morning, he started and closed with the focus of his vision: economic growth and inclusive opportunity. He ended ironically with “This is my budget, and within it, our values. Each and every one aimed squarely at economic growth and inclusive opportunity.” The Governor didn’t mince his words. We are not presuming the values of Governor Lamont; he is telling us. His “values” include raising tuition by $3000 for over 30,000 of his constituents, shaping a future where “inclusion” excludes Connecticut’s next generation. It begs the question, Governor: who are you trying to include?
Not everyone lives within the gates of your multi-millionaire neighborhood in Greenwich, Governor, and not everyone’s father could get them into the fancy schools, but apparently everyone can take hundreds of thousands dollars in student loans? It’s clear that the Governor would prefer we all attend Yale, where he is a much more active advisory board member (Yes…the President of our Board of Trustees is on an advisory board of another in-state university). But we have news for the Governor — raising tuition by thousands of dollars and eliminating necessary student organizations and services does indeed make us more like Yale, but it destroys what UConn is for all of us in the process. How could he know that, though? He’s never even met us.
If the Governor had spent any time here, he would see what this place is: Connecticut’s future. When he cuts our budget, he kills dreams, he kills what Connecticut could be. Every dollar that Lamont adds to our tuition is another local business not created, another taxpayer lost, and another problem left unsolved.
In 1991, the State of Connecticut provided over $3,000 dollars more per student than they do today (that’s before adjusting for inflation, too). Connecticut began to see rising costs, and we, the future of Connecticut, made the sacrifice. And we made the same sacrifice over and over and over again, year after year…While our student debt exploded over the years of shouldering this sacrifice, the state is now in its best financial condition in years. Now was the time when Lamont should have taken the opportunity to become a national leader in supporting its students. In a time where the future is more uncertain than ever, now was a moment to make a difference.
Thankfully for us all, the Governor’s “inclusive” budget must go through the Connecticut General Assembly—a General Assembly that wants to hear our voices. On February 15th we, the students of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, will WALK OUT of classes and travel to the State Capitol in order to finally introduce ourselves to the Governor and to show the General Assembly that the proposed dangerous cuts are unacceptable. The student government will cover all student costs for the day, including box lunches and free transportation. Buses will depart from Hillside Road (near the Husky Dog statue) at 10:45 am. Seating on the buses is limited and on a first come/first serve basis. The first 800 students to arrive will receive a #SAVEUCONN t-shirt. To be eligible for a t-shirt, RSVP here.
It is vitally important that we have the largest turnout possible for this day. A day that will live in history, either as the day Connecticut took a stand or the day Connecticut destroyed its future.
I’d like to end with a message to the Governor…
We look forward to meeting you.
Best,
Mason Holland
Student Body President
Published February 9, 2023.