NSDC STATEMENT ON MARCH 21 STUDENT RALLY IN CARSON CITY

Contact:
Andrew Davey, Secretary & Political Director
806-1340/ atdnext@gmail.com

Chris Miller, President
(702) 569-6744/ chrisisademocrat@gmail.com

We at the Nevada Stonewall Democratic Caucus (NSDC) were encouraged to see well over 1,000 Nevada college students converge upon our State Capitol today to demand that Governor Brian Sandoval and our legislators consider real solutions to our state budget crisis that encourage future economic recovery rather than further jeopardize Nevada’s future. Under Sandoval’s proposed budget, both UNLV and UNR would be forced to eliminate entire departments, athletic programs, many hundreds more teachers, and further degrade the state of higher education in Nevada. And even with all these brutal cuts, both schools will still have to implement upwards of 12% tuition increases!

In addition to the proposed dismantling of UNR and UNLV, Sandoval’s budget would also jeopardize Nevada’s State Colleges and Community Colleges. These are critical links that open the doors to higher education for many thousands of Nevadans who otherwise can’t access college, but CSN would have to eliminate classes and raise tuition under Sandoval’s plan. And even worse, the entire campuses of Nevada State College in Henderson and Western Nevada College in Carson City might have to close!

So why are we at NSDC so concerned about education? We are Nevadans, too. In fact, some of our members are college students, and there are tens of thousands more LGBTQ students at public colleges and universities throughout the state. And even for our members who are not in school themselves, we all have family members and friends in school.

We all have a stake in ensuring economic success here in Nevada, and studies by The Brookings Institute and London School of Economics, as well as statements by local business leaders, have made clear that investment in public education is critical to achieve the economic diversification our state desperately needs for healthier and more sustainable economic growth in the future. This is why we ask that The Legislature adopt a truly balanced approach to balancing the budget, an approach that preserves Nevada’s colleges and raises the revenue needed to sustain them. As we join our fellow LGBTQ community groups in traveling to Carson City next week for Equality Days, we at NSDC will be asking our legislators and Governor Sandoval to take this balanced approach to preserve opportunity for a better future for all Nevadans.

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Nevada Stonewall Democratic Caucus was founded in 2005. Our membership consists of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Nevadans and our straight allies. We will lobby and educate members of the Nevada State Legislature to protect the rights and advocate on behalf of Nevadans who are routinely discriminated against because of their sexuality and gender identity.

@NVStonewallDems
nvstonewalldems@gmail.com