PHENOM Urges Massachusetts Legislators to Better Fund Public Higher Education
Members of PHENOM attend budget hearings at the State House on March 26. (L-R) Legislative Director Nicholas Gula, PHENOM Secretary and UMass junior Ella Prabhakar; Hampshire College student and PHENOM Executive Director Henry Morgan; UMass graduating senior and PHENOM member Michaela White; UMass graduate and PHENOM ally Emily Currier Dougherty. Photo: Liam Rue
Source: Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts
Representatives of the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM) took to the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Tuesday, March 26, to attend the Joint Ways and Means Committee Budget Hearing to advocate for more funding for public higher education.
PHENOM emphasized the dire need for more public higher education funding given continued tuition hikes in the UMass system, the ever-growing student debt crisis, and inadequate resources for university staff and campus buildings.
“Education… is the tide that lifts all boats,” said Henry Morgan, PHENOM’s executive director. “Please increase financial aid funding in public higher education and make class mobility and self-actualization a possibility for all.”
Several PHENOM-endorsed bills designed to remedy these issues, including the CHERISH Act (S.824/ H.1325), the Debt-Free Future Act (H.1265/S.823)and the Endowment Tax Act (H. 2824), still lack the support needed to pass.
“UMass has opened so many doors for me,” said PHENOM member and UMass graduating senior Mechaela White, noting all of the friendships, internships, and professors who made her into the person she is today.
“These are opportunities everyone should have,” White continued in her testimony to representatives. “We are looking towards people of your power [to give everyone in Massachusetts the same access to public higher education].”
le is a grassroots coalition of students, faculty, staff, alumni, business leaders, families, and community members who fight for high-quality, debt-free public colleges and universities in Massachusetts.