Story by Cady Stribling, Contributing writer
Murray State’s Student Government Association joined students from across Kentucky at the state capitol to rally for higher education.
Murray State specifically advocated for the Kentucky Employees Retirement System Pension Rate Freeze. During the 2018 session, the Kentucky legislature gave a rate freeze for employer contributions with KERS. The employer contribution rate will increase on July 1 if current legislation does not stop it.
SGA President and Student Regent J.T. Payne discussed the KERS pension rate freeze at the rally with Kentucky State Rep. Rob Wiederstein, D-District 11. Murray State currently pays $6 million per year in KERS rates at 49 percent. SGA advocated on behalf of Murray State to freeze this rate. If it is not frozen, on July 1 it will increase to 84 percent, which will bring the total to $10.4 million. Payne said this is a $4.4 million increase and a financial strain for the University.
Low enrollment rates could also be to blame for financial strains at Murray State.
“We’ve had almost 14 percent of decreased enrollment over four years,” Payne said. “We’ve gone from almost 11,000 students to about 9,300 over a period of time.”
Wiederstein said he speculates the “pension debacle” played some part in the enrollment drop.
SGA also advocated against House Bill 194, which would allow anyone with a valid concealed deadly weapons license or temporary gun permit to possess a concealed weapon on campus.
“With both representatives, they made sure to understand where our concerns came from with increasing funds that the University has to pay, as well as Bill 194,” Jessica Stoner, senator for Elizabeth College, said. “They were sure to further look into those issues for us and be sure to be there for us if we ever need anything in regards to any more information on those bills.”
Rep. Tim Moore, R-District 18 sponsored HB 194.
Regardless of where one falls on the political spectrum, Payne said most universities across Kentucky are against the bill. Wiederstein shared his experience as a judge regarding HB 194. He had the option to carry a concealed weapon in the courtroom. But, he said that because he wore a robe, he knew that there was no real possibility that he could be helpful in a situation that would require a gun; therefore, understood the concerns regarding the bill.
“Let’s see what happens… let’s see if it gets to the floor,” Wiederstein said in regard to the bill.
Many students gave speeches in the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda. Maggie Moore, junior from Paducah, Kentucky represented Murray State.
“It was a great experience, and I was honored that J.T. would ask me to take on that role,” Moore said. “I’m a Senator at large. I’ve been doing this since fall 2018 semester. We’re all passionate about our higher education, we’re all passionate about politics… The rally part was just about hyping everybody up and getting excited to go and meet with different legislators and go to our meetings.”
Hannah Edelen, SGA President at Northern Kentucky University, organized the rally. Alongside Northern Kentucky University, Murray State had the largest turnout.
“I am really, really proud of our Murray State students and how well they conducted themselves and how professional they were and how passionate they are for higher education,” Payne said. “We had one of the greatest turnouts that we have ever taken on this trip. Also, this year we had one of the greatest turnouts of any institution in the state of Kentucky, and we were definitely the furthest away and had to get up the earliest. So, I think that shows the persistence of Murray State students and the dedication that we have even in the far western part of the state.”
Payne said he believes attending the Higher Education Rally was necessary for SGA in order to show that what happens in legislation affects universities everywhere.
“Higher education is facing some major decreases in state appropriations, but also some policy changes that would definitely have a huge negative financial impact on university,” Payne said. “The negative financial impact in turn affects students, it affects our tuition rates, it affects our meals and dining costs, it affects the amount of money we have to do student programming.”
Payne’s experiences were positive. The legislators were glad to hear from the group, Payne said. This wasn’t the case for every Murray State group, but Payne believes it was a great experience.
“I think it was an excellent experience for students,” Jeanie Morgan, student government and organizations adviser, said. “So many of our students have never had the
opportunity to see the capitol building or to meet with a representative of the state, and I think it was very beneficial for them as well as for the university as a whole.”
Students interested in getting involved with SGA can attend their meetings held in the Curris Center’s Barkley Room at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
