At midday Tuesday, students, staff, faculty and alumni from Vermont State University packed the Statehouse’s Cedar Creek Room with a message for lawmakers: Save our libraries and sports teams.
On Feb. 7, Vermont State University administrators announced plans to transition to “all-digital” libraries and downgrade athletics programs on two campuses.
That announcement sparked immediate outrage, which was again on display Tuesday as more than a dozen people took to the podium.
“These decisions about libraries and athletics have caused such a loud response because they cut straight to the heart of student experience and community trust,” Hannah Miller, a professor at Northern Vermont University, told the crowd.
Some argued that the cuts to libraries and athletics would hit marginalized students — low-income people, people of color, people with disabilities — the hardest. Several students said they were considering transferring to other schools over the decision.
“The administration of Vermont State University is not listening to the students,” said Rebecca Joy-Harrison, a second-year art education major at Castleton University. “I’m hoping our legislators will. So I’ll repeat to them what we’ve been saying all along: We need our libraries. We need our librarians and we need our books.”
University administrators argue that the moves are necessary for the deficit-burdened system: Schools have struggled to fill sports team rosters, they say, and circulation of physical books is sharply down. They vowed that library spaces and materials will remain accessible to students who need them.
“It’s a hard decision,” Vermont State University president Parwinder Grewal told lawmakers of the Senate Committee on Education last week. “And you know that we have to make some hard decisions in order to meet our budget cut requirements.”
But the protestors have drawn the attention of at least one high-level state official. After meeting with students and faculty Tuesday afternoon, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman issued a statement expressing “concern” with the university’s decisions.
“It appears that many of these cuts will create a larger economic decline than the purported savings,” Zuckerman said. “If these cuts lead to a large exodus of students and faculty, it could be terminal for those institutions which we cherish across the state.”
Asked for comment on those remarks, Katherine Levasseur, a university spokesperson, sent a lengthy statement pointing to an op-ed published by the university’s provost and a webpage of FAQs.
“If savings are not realized in one area, then greater savings will need to be found in another,” she said. “None of this is easy — not for the students, faculty, staff, alums, and community members who feel so passionately about our existing institutions, nor for those charged with making the very hard decisions as to how best to address the structural deficit.”
— Peter D’Auria
IN THE KNOW
After a lengthy debate, the Vermont Senate voted to confirm a former Orleans County prosecutor to the bench on Tuesday — but, in a highly unusual turn of events for a gubernatorial appointment, several senators voted in opposition.
The 26-4 vote capped weeks of debate about Judge Jennifer Barrett, who served as state’s attorney in the Northeast Kingdom from 2015 until Scott appointed her to the bench last summer.
The votes in opposition to Barrett’s appointment were cast by Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D/P-Chittenden Southeast, Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, Sen. Irene Wrenner, D-Chittenden North, and Sen. Dick McCormack, D-Windsor.
“Black Vermonters do feel really unheard in the decision that we’re about to make,” Ram Hinsdale told her colleagues.
— Lola Duffort
ON THE MOVE
The two chambers will now have to reconcile their drafts of this year’s budget adjustment bill — and decide the fate of the state’s motel housing program for unhoused Vermonters.
The House’s version, H.145, extends funding to keep the program going as is until June 30. The Senate’s version would begin restricting eligibility after May 31. Senators voted down an amendment offered Tuesday by Sens. Tanya Vyhovsky, D-Chittenden Central, and Irene Wrenner, D-Chittenden North, to mirror the House’s proposal, and then passed the larger bill by voice vote.
— Lola Duffort
ON TOUR
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ new book is titled “It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.” The national tour to promote it has the Vermont independent occasionally grimacing, too.
Take Sunday, when Sanders appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” After a nearly half-hour exchange on economic inequality, moderator Margaret Brennan inquired why seats for his reading in Washington, D.C., were selling for as much as $95 on Ticketmaster.
“Aren’t you benefiting yourself from this system that you’re trying to dismantle?” the moderator asked.
Sanders’ prickly, pausing smile — something he’d bring back Monday when “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert pushed for his future political plans — spoke volumes.
— Kevin O’ Connor
WEATHER FORECAST
Amateur meteorologist and actual Capitol Police Chief Matthew Romei has spoken. In a festive Fat Tuesday email, Romei sagely advised legislators and Statehouse employees, “Laissez les bons temps rouler,” or, “Let the good times roll.”
The phrase is “often used in good times and, well, more challenging events,” Chief said, getting to the bad news: “So, it’s going to snow, probably a lot” between Wednesday and Thursday, he warned.
“Leave plenty of time in your travels, have patience and above all, be kind….” he said. Cheers to that!
— Sarah Mearhoff
WHAT WE’RE READING
Burlington police say neighbor killed Rita Curran, solving a more than 50-year-old cold case (VTDigger)
New England researchers optimistic a tiny wasp is turning the tide against emerald ash borer (Vermont Public)
Vermont equity organizations seek to retire 8 school mascots (VTDigger)
Brattleboro’s Harris Hill ski jump rises above tree-tapping thaw (VTDigger)
