Carnival of Debt rides through the Park Blocks

The Portland Coalition to Defend Education, a group of students, educators and community members, held the first Carnival of Debt in the Park Blocks on Wednesday.

The event was meant to raise awareness of rising tuition and the resulting debt that the average student accrues.

Leah Franklin, a Portland State senior and a member of the coalition, said that many students like her are frustrated. She hopes that the event will attract students’ attention to learn why they’re paying so much for education.

“We are just very fed up with the increase in tuition,” Franklin said. “The name of the event is an ostentatious way to raise awareness with students.” 

In an article published by the Vanguard on April 5, it was reported that PSU President Wim Wiewel will ask the Oregon State Board of Higher Education to increase the tuition for PSU students by 9.2 percent, following the recommendation of the university’s Tuition Review Advisory Committee.

The increase is part of a plan to cover a $24 million hole in the university’s budget.

Under the proposed increase, resident undergraduate students will pay $1,644 for

12 credit hours in 2010–11. The current rate is $1,506.

The event featured literature for passersby to read. Among the documents available was a copy of an approval of the tuition increase signed by Wiewel. The coalition’s zine was also on display.  

 English professor Marcia Klotz, an executive member of PSU’s American Association of University Professors and one of the planners of the event, said she was concerned by the increase in tuition.

Klotz is on a per-term contract basis with the university and is unsure whether she will teach at PSU next year. 

ASPSU Senator Pearce Whitehead said that the main purpose of the event was to inform students.  

“We are not…telling [students] how to think,” Whitehead said. “We feel that the first thing is to start the conversation.”

Whitehead is a member of the Tuition Advisory Committee and is fellow ASPSU senator Adam Rahmlow’s running mate in the ASPSU presidential election.

The carnival featured events like Pin the Tail on the Bank CEO and Bobbing for Financial Aid. There was also a spinning wheel that asked “What can $3 billion buy”—options included 125,000 college grads, 175,000 college scholarships and 360,000 subsidized housing grants.

PSU Students for Unity and the International Socialist Organization were also involved in the planning of the event. ?