Husky Life

Tuition has been a major issue on the UConn-Storrs campus this spring.

Back in February, the university increased its tuition rates after much debate and discussion. Here is what The Daily Campus reported about the change:

In a nearly two-hour meeting, the UConn board of trustees voted for a 5.66 percent tuition increase for the 2011 fiscal year, The increase is .64 percent lower than what was suggested by vice president and chief financial officer, Richard Gray.

However, another layer of the tuition story has begun to unfold. My article on a proposed law to change the way that public universities modify their tuition rates ran in today’s Daily Campus. The raised state senate bill is known as “An Act Concerning Student Tuition At Public Colleges.” A copy of the bill, and its current status, can be found here.

The proposed legislation has recently undergone some changes. Originally, the bill mandated the university’s Board of Trustees to contact the joint standing committee of the General Assembly and provide it with “reasonable” time to comment on proposed changes prior to the board’s vote on tuition matters. The Joint Favorable Substitute now just requires the Board to notify the chairs of the legislative committees prior to a meeting in which the board plans to discuss tuition matters.

The bill affects all state universities in Connecticut including the Connecticut State University System, which is separate from the UConn system, and the community-technical colleges.

Question: what is your opinion on the current way that tuition is changed at Connecticut public universities? Do you think that is effective the way it is, or do you think that the process needs to be modified?

Law topics involving fisheries, space, the crisis in Hati and global climate change were discussed an international law symposium that I attended today at UConn’s law school in Hartford.

As an undergraduate, I felt that it was a privilege to attend the event. My peers in the Special Program in Law and I — with the exception of one Trinity College senior who I met at the breakfast reception — seemed to be the only undergraduates in the audience, which was mainly comprised of law students and professors. Translation: I was in a room brimming with very educated and well-dressed scholars. I was a bit intimidated. Instead of asking questions of the panelists as I would do with a guest lecturer in a typical undergraduate class, I just listened and tried to absorb the collective knowledge that surrounded me.

I can’t say that I understood all the ideas supporting each of the panelist’s respective arguments, but I enjoyed learning about a new branch of law. I was especially captivated by Steven A. Mirmina’s presentation of space law. An UConn law alumnus and NASA lawyer, he discussed legal issues in space including ownership and the problem of space junk, flying debris that has the potential to destroy important space satellites.

I never thought of law associated with the agency responsible for exploring the ‘final frontier’. I can’t wait to see how other fields of law emerge as the world becomes a more populated, complex and technologically-integrated place.

Photo Credit: NASA via Flickr (Creative Commons License)

My Q&A with Brien Buckman, a UConn sophomore and candidate for state rep. for the 54th district of Connecticut, ran in the Daily Campus today. During the course of our discussion, Buckman said something particularly interesting. When asked what he would say to other UConn students running for political office, he said the following:

I know at least two University of Connecticut students who are running for office in their hometowns and I would absolutely encourage them to do so, especially when we have new problems in our state system that require a new type of thinking…

I always knew that Peter Tesei, first selectman and UConn alum (Class of 1991), served on the RTM when he was 18. A few months ago, I read in the Greenwich Time that Harris Davidson, a Greenwich resident, was elected to RTM in 2008 to fill a vacant seat prior to starting his freshman year of college in D.C.. But I wasn’t aware that three Huskies this year were running for public office.

So, what does that mean for candidates who are college students and their (future?) constituents?

One common criticism of the Buckman campaign as reported in the Daily Campus is the fact that Buckman lacks experience in politics, though in my Q&A Buckman said that he has worked in the state attorney’s office and with legislators and legislative liaisons. Others have wondered how Buckman could balance his studies while still having time to listen and respond to constituent concerns. In response, Buckman has said that he would take spring semesters off (when the state reps. meet in Hartford) so he could fully concentrate on politics.

Here’s my question to you out there in the blogosphere: how do you feel about college students running for political office? Do you believe that they provide new ideas that might solve old problems or do you believe that their limited experience with politics may hinder their political goals? Do you think that college students can both study and represent their neighbors?

One quick note: Buckman is running for state government. Davidson and Tesei served in the local government as college students.