Out d’Coup LIVE | Nick Marcil and Alex Karlesses organizers with PASSHE Defenders

On this week's show I welcome Nick Marcil and Alexandra Karlesses. Nick and Alex are graduate students at West Chester University who wrote a piece for the student newspaper The Quad, "Hallmarks of neoliberalism pervade PA system of higher education." In that piece they argue, 

"While the promise of market efficiency can seem tempting under such bleak circumstances, it is not a sustainable model of increased access or more abundant resources in higher education. In fact, despite the increasing reliance on this model, inflation-adjusted per-student state funding has declined in 41 states since 2008, according to a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In PA alone, we have seen about a 40% reduction since the year 2000 in state funding across the board, even as universities continue to struggle and threaten to shut their doors."

Now, Alex and Nick are helping launch a new organization, "PASSHE Defenders," Fighting for a Fully Funded State System of Free Public Higher Education. Sounds like an appropriate addition to the Marvel Universe and I'm all in. Find them on Twitter @DefendersPasshe & Instagram passhe_defenders. You can join them for an organizing meeting this Thursday, May 20 @ 7:00 pm - SIGN UP HERE. 

It turns out today is a good day to have them on, too. Earlier today the PA Senate Democratic Caucus Policy Committee held a hearing on PASSHE consolidation plans. State Senators Katie Muth, Lindsey Williams, and Judy Schwank led questions for panels featuring faculty, staff, students, and administrators. 

Nick Marcil is a first-year Higher Education Policy and Student Affairs masters student at West Chester University. He is a current Graduate Assistant for Student Engagement in the Center for Civic Engagement & Social Impact and will be returning there next year. He graduated from the West Chester University in May 2020, where he majored in Early Grades Preparation and a minor in Mathematics Education (Pk-8).

Alex Karlesses is a first-year Higher Education Policy and Student Affairs masters student at West Chester University. She is a current Graduate Assistant in the Twardowski Career Development Center, and thoroughly enjoys counseling students and helping them with their postgraduate plans. She was also recently elected as the Vice President of the Graduate Student Association, and plans to use her platform to promote and plan programming for first-generation students, as well as help graduate students obtain any resources they need to help secure funding or further aid for their studies. She graduated from the University of Delaware in 2017, where she majored in English and Journalism.