The University of Wisconsin Associated Students of Madison held a press conference Wednesday demanding "sufficient" state funding for the entire UW System.
Students gathered on the steps of the State Capitol clenching signs reading "Don't Starve UW" and "Help UW Thrive, Not Survive."
ASM Shared Governance chair Jeff Wright said legislators need to fund the UW System in order to "protect Wisconsin's storied legacy."
"Since its founding, this institution has been a pioneer in addressing the nation's most pressing problems, providing social and scientific solutions that benefit the citizens of this state and country," Wright said. "Now, our academic reputation is in jeopardy."
Wright added while tuition has risen 4 percent in the last four years, state funding for the university has dropped 7 percent in the same amount of time. The “insufficient funding” of the UW System will result in a loss of educational quality, Wright said, including increasing class sizes, the elimination of classes and an increased student-to-faculty ratio.
"These trends are having a demonstrable impact on the quality of our education, which is evident across the university," Wright said. "In short, students are living with less."
Wright also said professors at UW earn an average of $103,000 per year, the lowest among a 12-member group of similar schools, of which the average salary is $117,000.
UW is having a hard time maintaining staff who leave "for greener pastures," Wright said, where salaries are higher and research funding is easier to obtain.
"What does it say about our state's priorities when other Big Ten schools — not to mention Ivy League schools — are poaching the people that make this place great?" Wright asked.
ASM is also concerned that funding the UW System to meet its needs goes beyond just benefiting the various universities, but every Wisconsin resident.
The student government is urging state legislators to pass a budget of $180 million for the entire UW System, of which $70 million would go to UW-Madison.
Josh Wescott, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, said the Senate's budget has taken UW System students and faculty into full account.
"The UW students have never once had any reason to fear or not like what the Senate did in their budget," Wescott said. "There are real-life impacts of not getting the budget done."
One of these consequences, Wescott said, includes students across the UW System not yet receiving financial aid.
John Murray, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said Huebsch feels the Assembly's budget made a significant investment in the university system.
"The speaker certainly appreciates the input of the students and is certainly sensitive to their position given that the budget has not been involved," Murray said.
