Students, alumni and faculty met with South Carolina representatives at the Statehouse to discuss a controversial bill that would cut state funding to all public universities in the state at the 12th annual Carolina Day on Wednesday.
USC President Harris Pastides is one of many who are against this bill, which would essentially turn USC into a private university.
"We are the university for South Carolina," Pastides said in his speech. "The funding we get, although diminished, is vitally important. We will never walk away from the state, ever ... You could take more money away from us, and that's something we never hope to see, but we would still never walk away from the University of South Carolina." Conversion from a public institution to a private institution could have monumental implications for the future of USC.
USC's pillars, or guiding principles, highlight how important the relationship between the school and the state is. "The fourth pillar [is] to work ceaselessly to be part of South Carolina's economic, cultural and future well-being," Pastides said. The first three pillars are world-class education, world-class scholarship and access for the student.
Lee Goble, USC student body presidential candidate, expressed his concern that losing focus on higher education would lessen the number of highly qualified teachers and ultimately cause a lower quality of primary and secondary education.
"It's not K-12 or higher education. It's K-12 and higher education," Goble said. He hopes that policymakers will change their perspective when it comes to funding.
The event, coordinated by the My Carolina Alumni Association, took place at the Statehouse and at the Alumni Association building on Lincoln Street. Alumni Association President Paula Harper Bethea believes that a united movement will help the cause of those who do not support the bill.
"Sometimes it isn't so much that you talk to someone one-on-one as it is that statement that so many people who are dressed in garnet and black, who wear Carolina Changes Everything buttons, says to people," she said. "It shows our pride and our commitment and our resolve, and I think it makes a palpable difference."
Jack Claypoole, alumni association executive director, enjoyed the day as a celebration of what USC means to the state.
"It's a day for all of us to come together and to show policymakers how much we love the University of South Carolina — across the state — and also how important we believe higher education is to the economy, the health care and the well-being of South Carolina," Claypoole said.