Historic Summit Brings Together Student Leaders From Nine Public Universities; New Organization Formed to Represent New Jersey College Students

New Brunswick, NJ – On Feb 5 at the Rutgers University campus, student leaders from nine of New Jersey’s public universities met and formed New Jersey United Students (NJUS).  The new organization developed a mission statement and a vision for addressing funding cuts and tuition hikes in the public university system.

The NJUS mission statement reads, “We the students of NJ higher education institutions gather to form NJUS with the purpose of advocating, representing and educating all past, present, and future students of New Jersey colleges and universities.”

NJUS will work to promote the importance of higher education among all populations in the state and avert further decreases in public funding that will be detrimental to future generations.

“The state of higher education is in crisis right now.  With more state money being allocated to incarceration than education, many opportunities for the State of New Jersey are being lost,” said John Aspray, a Rutgers University student who helped bring the coalition together.

Members also launched a campaign to promote awareness among school administrators, students, and legislators leading up to a statewide Day of Action on April 13 at universities across the state.  The Day of Action will demonstrate to elected officials that students are not apathetic towards decreases in higher education funding and that they desire and deserve a stronger voice in Trenton.

In preparation for the April 13 Day of Action, NJUS will work to foster solidarity amongst student populations on the issue of higher education funding.  Students will get involved directly by attending and testifying at the New Jersey state budget hearings in March.

Representatives from New Jersey City University, Ramapo College, Rowan University, Rutgers-New Brunswick, Rutgers-Newark, The College of New Jersey, William Paterson University, Kean University, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology were on hand for the formation of the coalition.  NJUS intends to include the state’s other public universities in the immediate future.

(Courtesy of NJUS)