University students ask governor for help
5:17 p.m. Thursday, December 14, 2006
In just a few weeks, the Governor will reveal her budget proposal for the next year.
And now thousands of university students are putting the pressure on with hopes of getting the funds to repair university facilities that are in a state of disrepair.
These are just a few of the maintenance projects, totaling $760 million, that have been put on hold at Kansas universities. And it's the students who are asking the state to pay up to fix the problems.
“Now is the time to protect our invaluable state universities' infrastructure and invest in the future of Kansas,” said Ginger Niemann, who heads the Student Advisory Committee.
Emporia State University sophomore Courtney George says some of the maintenance issues actually disrupt classes. And that's not what she signed up for.
“As students, we should not be expected to attend classes in classrooms where ceiling tiles are falling down,” said George.
So she joined her fellow students to deliver more than 6,000 post cards from college students across the state to the Governor's office. George hopes this will make a point, and she believes ignoring the situation any longer could have a serious impact on perspective student decisions.
“If they hear about these issues and they see the deferred maintenance not being addressed, then possibly some of these students could go elsewhere to attend higher education,” George went on to explain.
Kansas State University senior Lucas Maddy says some of the maintenance issues actually pose threats to student safety.
“The entrances of some of our buildings have steel grates over the top of them, which, when I first showed up, I thought it was to keep the pigeons from dropping their business on your head. But it's actually to keep the masonry from falling onto students as they walk in,” Maddy said.
Nichols Hall on the K-State campus is actually in such a state of disrepair that students have to be protected as the walls fall apart.
And university students across the state believe fixing those problems should be a top priority for lawmakers as they begin the coming legislative session.
Governor Sebelius says she does take the university maintenance situation seriously, and that she will have a plan to address it in the coming session.
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