N.C. State Protests Budget

The group of students who organized the rally, which included members of the N.C. State student government and Andrew Payne, former UNC-system Association of Student Governments president, had initially planned to walk from the bell tower to the legislative building in downtown Raleigh.

But the format of the march was changed Monday evening when N.C. State administrators expressed concern about the purpose of the march, said Amanda Devore, ASG vice president of finance and development.

"We got thrown a little curveball," she said. "The administration said it would be bad political timing."

Instead, the organizers of the event turned it into a voter registration rally, Devore said.

Everyone who attended the rally filled out an "I Pledge to Vote" card, she said.

"Each person made a pledge to make sure the legislators who don't support higher education are not in office anymore," she said.

Devore said N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox addressed the crowd, saying she was happy with what was happening on campus and that she was happy the students supported her.

But Devore said Fox's words did not reflect the students' concerns. "We're still getting an 8 percent tuition increase for in-state students and a 12 percent increase for out-of-state students," she said.

"And there is still a 3 percent budget cut. We're not happy, and we're not going to sit idly by."

The rally was planned in response to a protest that started Thursday night but ended Friday morning when 500 N.C. State students marched onto Fox's lawn at 1 a.m chanting "no more cuts."

Thursday's march began as an after-hour read-in at the library, but when Fox did not show up to address the group's concerns, the group made its way to her house to protest cuts to the university's budget.

"We want to keep the students motivated and informed about the issue," said Daniel Gilligan, N.C. State's student body treasurer.

Devore said that the low turnout Tuesday was because it was test week at N.C. State and that student government lost a day of publicity due to the administrators' concerns about the march.

"The turnout wasn't great," Gilligan said. "We were optimistic there would be more."

Gilligan said the rally was one of many efforts the N.C. State student government will be making to keep students motivated.

A coalition of students plans to meet Thursday to discuss future events relating to the UNC system's budget.

Gilligan said the group has discussed campaigning to step up voter registration and releasing a report card for state legislators.

UNC-Chapel Hill Student Body President Jen Daum said she could not attend the rally but was surprised the group did not march to the legislative building.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.