May 1st, mark your calenders

The time for petitioning is over. It's obvious we've accrued enough support in this petition to understand that there's a problem with our tuition. I'm beginning to learn more about how UMB's finances work, and where they get their money.

Allegedly, the government refuses to fund UMass Boston appropriately due to "fear of competition". So this is no longer on the administration, it's on the state of Massachusetts not appropriately funding their state schools. We can perform all the walkouts, petitions, and protests that we want. Until our state government gets involved and provides UMass the resources they need, our tuition will remain the same. 

Now I call on you all. The time for this petition to be spread around and shared is finished, because even as the numbers increase, the appropriate people aren't seeing this petition.

So I challenge everyone to reach out to Massachusetts state's committee of higher education and call them to tell them that UMass Boston is in need of more funds. I realize that asking 522 people to call representatives is a challenge, but it was honestly a challenge getting 522 people to sign this petition, and look at us now! Taking 5 minutes out of the day to let ANY MEMBER of the higher education committee know that we are not having a good time will surely make a difference. 

I'll continue calling the reps and sending them emails, please refer to this link to find the members of the committee and their proper contact info via their links: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J29 Our deadline is May 1 when our first payment is due to the university. Let's keep it going!

This is also a good time to call your reps and ask for a mortgage, rent, student loan, and tuition suspension as a part of the next stimulus package. These are issues that apply to all of you, so even if you are no longer passionate about this petition, make sure you promote good change.