Cigarette, liquor taxes hiked

Kayla Webley
2005-05-18
The Daily

Gov. Christine Gregoire signed the “sin tax” bill yesterday, leaving local businesses and UW students reaching deeper into their pockets when they reach for cigarettes and liquor.

The law will raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 60 cents starting in July — an extra $175 million in revenue for the state in the next biennium. Additionally, the increase of $1.33 per liter of liquor will generate $50 million over the next two years.

While the excess revenue will aid the state’s tight budget, Nasim Choudhry, co-owner of University Smoke Shop on the Ave., glanced around the store he has owned for 11 years and said he may have to consider getting out of the tobacco business.

“The tobacco business is hurting already,” he said. “I know they are trying to get revenue out of tobacco, but they don’t understand they are hurting so many small businesses. It’s tough to survive and pay the bills. We are seriously thinking about starting some other type of business aside from tobacco.”

At the bill signing ceremony yesterday, Gregoire was unapologetic, saying the taxes won’t hurt the average citizen much and will produce a better state.
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Greek Week to aid Theta Chi member with cancer

Kayla Webley
2005-05-10
The Daily

Members of 51 fraternities and sororities belted out songs and spiked volleyballs yesterday to kick off Greek Week, an annualphilanthropic event.

Funds raised from this year’s Greek Week will primarily go to the Kyle Charvat Fund, which will benefit a UW Theta Chi member battling brain cancer. Charvat’s insurance declined to cover experimental treatment he is undergoing to fight the tumor; Greek Week funds will be added to the $75,000 already raised for the cause.

“We can benefit a member of our own community,” said vice president for Greek Relations, Andrew Ondrak, one of the week’s organizers. “Paying for treatment for a condition that is threatening his life is an important and worthy cause.”

Friends of Ravenna Park, an association dedicated to renovating Ravenna Park, will also receive funds from the philanthropies.

“More than in previous years, this year we really wanted to impact the community we find ourselves in,” said Ondrak. “Since we are a part of this community, we really should be aiding the local community as much as we can.”
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Emmert quizzes graduating seniors on pros and cons of UW experience

Kayla Webley
2005-05-06
The Daily

As part of his year-long effort to connect with students, UW President Mark Emmert visited an upper-level business course yesterday to hear about graduating seniors’ experiences at the UW.

“From the seniors graduating [Emmert] wants to get a sense of what their experience has been like now that they are leaving the University,” said Corey Phelps, an assistant professor in the Business School and instructor of Management 430, the class Emmert visited.

Emmert began his mission to connect with students by speaking to freshman interest group students in autumn quarter, stopping by sophomore and junior-level classes in the winter and finishing the year with seniors.

“When you are president of a university it is easy to not have as much contact with students as you would like,” Emmert said to the class. “It’s really easy to lose track of what’s going around on the campus.”

Emmert asked the students a variety of questions ranging from their experiences as freshmen to their post-graduation plans.
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House pitches 7 percent tuition hike in new budget

Kayla Webley
2005-04-07
The Daily

The state House of Representatives released a budget proposal yesterday that resonated well with UW lobbyists, despite including a suggested 7 percent increase in tuition.

In the proposal, all revenue from the tuition raise would return to fund the UW, a contrary suggestion to the Senate’s budget proposal, where only half of the extra money would return to the UW.

“[The House budget] doesn’t claw back any of the tuition revenue,” said UW lobbyist Randy Hodgins. “Every dime of that tuition money will stay at the UW to increase quality for students.”

The budget would also increase financial aid proportional to tuition increases.

“They did maintain the requisite funding for financial aid,” said Hodgins. “[The budget] recognizes both access and quality at the same time.”
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In tough budget session, UW won significant battles

Kayla Webley
2005-04-27
The Daily

The UW fought, pleaded and managed to come out alive — with some changes, improvements and disappointments along the way — in the 2005 legislative session.

The state’s legislative session ended when mallets dropped simultaneously in both houses of the state Legislature Sunday.

Even with less money to work with and more projects and entities to fund, the session closed with a budget awaiting a signature from Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Statewide diversity

UW administrators and lobbyists were in support of Senate Bill 5575 and its companion bill in the House, which, if passed, would have allowed race to be considered as a factor in college admissions.

The UW has not been able to use race in the admissions process since 1998 when Initiative 200 passed. Since then, the UW has struggled to increase diversity and, just this academic year, reached the levels of diversity present before I-200.
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Senator sorry for pairing Holocaust with gay rights

Kayla Webley
2005-04-26
The Daily

UW faculty member Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, defended remarks she made comparing the Holocaust with the struggle for gay rights, which incited criticism from members of the Jewish community.

The remarks were made during a floor speech last Thursday when Kohl-Welles, a women’s studies lecturer at the UW, spoke on House Bill 1515, which would have provided equal protection for Washington residents, regardless of sexual orientation. The bill failed by one vote.

During her testimony, Kohl-Welles referenced the Holocaust to provide historical perspective of what “horrors” in history have occurred from discrimination, she said.

Kohl-Welles was asked to publicly retract her statement in an e-mail from Robert Jacobs, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

“Use of the Holocaust in modern political dialogue is inappropriate and offensive, whether it comes from the political right, left or center,” said Jacobs in an e-mail to Kohl-Welles sent Friday. “We’re very sorry to hear you, in your support of 1515, equate the treatment of gays and lesbians in our country with the horrors of the Holocaust.”
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Seven percent tuition hike approved

Kayla Webley
2005-04-26
The Daily

A 7 percent hike in tuition was approved by the state Legislature when passed the 2005-07 budget at the close of the legislative session.

Once approved by the governor, the UW Board of Regents, which sets all tuition levels, will have the authority to raise tuition for in-state undergraduates, not exceeding the 7 percent mark.

UW lobbyists, who originally anticipated a higher amount, met the 7 percent tuition increase favorably.

“We walked into this session thinking we were going to get [an increase of] 12-15 percent,” said UW student lobbyist Jamie Corning. “We know tuition needs to go up, so overall I think we did really well. We didn’t get where we’d hoped we’d be, but we certainly got a lot further than we thought.”

Much of the concern surrounding the tuition increase was due to uncertainty over how much of the increase would go toward improving the quality of the UW, not just filling in holes in the budget.
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Gregoire signs bill to aid college-bound foster youth

Kayla Webley
2005-04-21
The Daily

Former foster youth will get some extra help pursuing post-secondary education thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire yesterday.

House Bill 1079 sets former foster children between the ages 18 and 24 as a priority to receive state need-based grants and work study opportunities. The Higher Education Coordinating Board will be directed to give special consideration to foster youth when administering grants.

The bill only applies to those foster children who were dependent on the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) when they turned 18.

“These students are facing so many challenges to begin with,” said David Del Villar Fox, legislative coordinator for DSHS children’s administration. “Any help we can provide them would be useful.”

According to a 2003 study of the 470 youth who turned 18 while in foster care, 161 planned on attending college, said Jerry Gilliland, spokesperson for Gregoire.
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Gregoire answers to students

Kayla Webley
2005-04-20
The Daily

Students posed questions to Gov. Christine Gregoire on a variety of topics, from education to affirmative action to the disputed gubernatorial race, yesterday in a student forum held in Kane Hall.

Prior to the open question-and-answer period, Gregoire, the sixth Husky to become governor, urged UW students to become actively involved with their communities.

“I want to encourage you to set a high water mark. … Get involved in public service,” she said. “If you wonder whether you will make a difference, I stand here as an example. … You can make a difference.”

Gregoire said public service might give students an edge in the “tough” process of competing for jobs after graduation.

“People can come and say they are dedicated to public service, but it is one thing to say it and another to show [you've] been engaged in the community,” said Gregoire. “I don’t know of a good company in Washington State that doesn’t serve the community.”
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Gregoire OKs bill to curb student credit card debt

Kayla Webley
2005-04-19
The Daily

Students itching for some extra cash may be less tempted to reach for credit card applications, thanks to a bill signed yesterday by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

Senate Bill 5506 mandates all state institutions of higher education to establish policies regarding the marketing of credit cards to students.

“As the mother of two university students and a long-time supporter of consumer protection, the governor is keenly aware of the dangers credit card marketing can pose for young consumers who are just learning to make their own decisions about money and credit,” said Althea Cawley-Murphree, Gregoire’s spokesperson.

Gregoire supported the measure to help ensure college students will be less likely to fall into debt.

“[She] signed this bill in order to give greater protection for young consumers and help make sure they understand what they are getting themselves into,” said Cawley-Murphree.
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