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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Wednesday April 16, 2008- On Monday April 21^st, the 6^th Annual Tent State University will hold a panel discussion titled "Education is a right! The Future of Funding" at 4:00PM on Voorhees Mall on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University. The discussion also features a question and answer session with those on the panel. Participants include representatives from the New Jersey Policy Perspective, the Association of American University Professors, the Better Choices Campaign, Tent State University, and Former-Senator and presidential candidate, Mike Gravel. Tent State University is supported and run by members of the Rutgers New Brunswick chapter of Tent State University/Students for a Democratic Society (TSU/SDS) and a broad coalition of other student organizations.

"Gov. Corzine's so-called "budget freeze" puts the future of our state schools and other valuable government services in jeopardy, as this freeze slashes $76 million from overall higher education funding and takes $38 million from Rutgers University alone," states Tent State organizer and Rutgers student Amy Braunstein. "With this year's additional state-cuts to higher education, and a reinvigorated push to fund it in Mississippi, New Jersey now provides the least support to higher education of any state in the union."

"Beyond the rhetoric of budget cuts or massive toll-hikes, students organizing Tent State University believe there are other alternatives at hand. A study released by NJ Policy Perspective found that expanding the recently passed sales tax on services to include legal, accounting and computer fees would generate over $2 billion," explains Tent State organizer and Rutgers student Alyson Mandeville. "Throughout the year, we have been working with the People's Organization for Progress and others to find alternatives to higher education cuts, ones that promote values of peace and self-determination."

"In this time of economic recession, the historically monumental budget requested by the Pentagon stands in stark contrast to the austerity of New Jersey's. Governor Corzine should consider cutting the expense of maintaining our New Jersey National Guard's presence in Iraq and begin an effort to bring home our troops, rather than cut essential domestic services," says Avianna Perez, Tent State Organizer and Rutgers College Alum '08. "At Rutgers, New Brunswick students in Tent State/SDS are ready to fight against continued neglect and to take it to Trenton if we have to. We look to Rutgers administration for support and call upon the students to unite in opposition to continued budget cuts."

According to the mission statement listed on the Tent State University website, "Tent State University is a national movement (started here at Rutgers in 2003) that believes democracy and education are inseparable social rights that belong to everyone ... Tent State is a space where students, faculty, staff, community members and organizations can come together and practice democracy. Only by building our own institutions of art, politics, and education can we generate enough social power to change the undemocratic structures and practices of our universities and society."

Tent State University at Rutgers is taking place this year from April 19^th to April 25^th, with workshops, classes, cultural events, and entertainment throughout the week from a wide range of different student and national organizations.

Tent State University is just one of many projects that the group Tent State University/Students for a Democratic Society (TSU/SDS) organizes during the year. Tent State/SDS also supports other creative projects that leave the normal realm of traditional protests, such as an local electoral Ward Campaign; an educational youth outreach program in New Brunswick called Street University; and an Anti-War Campaign, which lead a successful Anti-War Teach-In in the Fall, and helped to organize the largest Anti-War Student Demonstration in the country on the anniversary of the war in Iraq this March.

While Tent State University has grown to become a national student movement, the idea originated at Rutgers New Brunswick in 2003 as a response to unprecedented budget cuts that led to a dramatic increase in tuition in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2005, Tent State Universities spread to dozens of campuses around the United States. Last year, Tent State University went international, with Tent States occurring in England and Scotland. Beyond the dozens of campuses hosting Tent States nation-wide this year, a Tent State University will be built at the Democratic National Convention in Boulder this August.

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