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Yalies to rally in Washington against budget bill

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1 year ago

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Yalies to rally in Washington against budget bill


Students are hosting a press conference with Connecticut senators and lobbying against a Republican budget proposal that could significantly increase taxes on universities’ endowments.


Baala Shakya & Henry Liu

5:39 pm, Jun 11, 2025

Staff Reporters

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Baala Shakya, Photography Editor

Yale students will gather at the United States Capitol on Thursday to advocate against changes to federal higher education policy that they believe could devastate Yale’s financial aid and research funding.

The coalition of students from multiple colleges — which calls itself “Fight for Higher Education” — will hold an “advocacy day in defense of higher education” in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Programming includes a rally and press conference with Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, which 25 student-advocates registered to attend. 

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Multiple student organizers told the News that the coalition has received financial support from Yale College for travel costs, and coaching from the University’s federal relations office. The News could not independently confirm University involvement with the student coalition.

“There is a general consensus among young people that there is something about this moment that is urgent and profoundly unsettling, and yet, despite the urgency that we feel, we have failed to follow through and act on that urgency,” Conor Webb ’28, an organizer of the advocacy effort, told the News.

Fight for Higher Education, which does not associate itself with any singular college, organized the advocacy day in Washington in response to a recent budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives in May that would raise the tax on Yale’s endowment from 1.4 to 21 percent, narrow eligibility for Pell Grants, eliminate subsidized student loans and impose a lifetime cap on student borrowing.  

The coalition bills itself as nonpartisan, though no Republican officials are slated to be involved in the Thursday rally. At least one registered Republican student will be in attendance, Zach Pan ’27, one of the organizers, told the News. 

Four student organizers told the News that Yale College is providing reimbursements for travel expenses to and from Washington for Yale students participating in Thursday’s rally. Pan told the News that Fight for Higher Education was formed specifically to obtain funding for students separate from funds already allocated to participating student organizations.

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An outside donor, who organizers refused to name, is covering the travel costs for students from other schools. Many students traveling to D.C. will be housed by volunteers who live in the area, the organizers said.

Several student groups, including the Yale College Democrats, the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, the Yale Student Environmental Coalition and the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, have joined the coalition and plan to send members to Thursday’s event. Students from Southern Connecticut State University, Hudson Valley Community College, Macalester College and West Virginia University will also join the coalition in Washington, Pan said.

In addition to the press conference and rally, the coalition is coordinating meetings with senators from swing states, including Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania, per Pan.

Pan said that Yale’s Office of Federal and State Relations has provided coaching and logistical support to students preparing to meet with their senators about the budget proposal bill which includes the tax hike on universities’ endowment gains. The News could not verify the Yale office’s involvement.

Yale has publicly signaled its opposition to the budget proposal, posting on social media to encourage community members to “tell Congress to protect discovery and opportunity” and “speak up for the future.” In one Instagram post, Yale warned that the proposal could jeopardize the University’s ability to remain debt-free for 85 percent of undergraduates and tuition-free for many middle-class families — arguments that Fight for Higher Education has echoed in their digital campaign.

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University President Maurie McInnis sounded the alarm to members of the Yale community when the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in May, urging members of the Yale community to contact their senators and share a set of talking points that emphasize the potentially harmful impacts of the bill on universities.

Emi Glass ’26, co-president of the Yale First-Generation Low-Income Advocacy Movement, or YFAM, told the News that after McInnis stated how the endowment tax would severely affect financial aid funding, she “stepped in to support” lobbying efforts against the bill.

“Given the fact that myself and many of the people involved in YFAM would definitely not be able to attend Yale if they didn’t receive very generous financial aid from Yale, it was really concerning to all of us,” Glass said.

Glass plans to travel to Washington on Thursday to join the coalition of students in advocating against the budget bill. She plans to meet with policymakers and an education staffer for Jon Husted, her Ohio senator, she told the News.

Jake Siesel ’27, co-president of the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, told the News that he too will attend the rally in Washington because the Republican budget proposal is “antithetical” to YUPP’s commitment to equal justice.

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“If enacted, the bill would amount to the largest cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in American history,” Siesel said. “Our organization stands in solidarity with this advocacy effort and will dedicate all available resources to support it.”

The current 1.4 percent tax on the endowments of most private colleges was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017.

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BAALA SHAKYA




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Baala Shakya covers Student Life, Campus Politics and Men’s Crew for the News. She is also a staff photographer and WKND columnist. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, she is a sophomore in Trumbull College majoring in History & Medieval Studies.





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Washington

Inside Woodlawn Cemetery’s mission to preserve history

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2 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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Inside Woodlawn Cemetery’s mission to preserve history


The iron gate to Woodlawn Cemetery is almost always locked shut, but Toni White-Richardson was more than happy to let News4 inside.

As president of the Woodlawn Cemetery Perpetual Care Association, she was excited to talk about what makes this resting place so special.

“It is major D.C. history, first. Then it’s also major Black history, second,” White-Richardson said.

More than 30,000 people, mostly African Americans, are buried among the 22 acres of Woodlawn Cemetery, which opened in Southeast D.C. in 1895. And like so many cemeteries that date back to the 1800s, particularly African American cemeteries, this one has fallen into disrepair, is overgrown and has headstones tumbled over, like those of Wilhelmina and her husband James, and Eliza Spencer, a mother who died in 1887.

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“Let me do a very upfront disclaimer,” White-Richardson said. “We have no idea where these stones go. And when we looked at the grid, it became even clear as mud, it became less clear as to where these stones should really go. Unfortunately, when we look back, we can tell there was a plan, but we could see we never got totally completed. Even back then, there are no markers saying this is Section H or this is Section G or this is 102 and this is, none of that.”

One of the most notable Washingtonians laid to rest here is John Mercer Langston, Virginia’s first Black congressman.

“Langston University came one year because they had a grand reunion in D.C., and we arranged for them to come to see […] John Mercer Langston, the university that was named after this man,” White-Richardson said.

And Blance Bruce, the first Black U.S. senator to serve a full term and register of the treasury, is also buried in the cemetery.

“He’s the signature on our dollar bill, you know, back in the late 1800s,” White-Richardson said. “So, oh, it’s history. It’s capital letters. No getting around it.”

Woodlawn is also the resting place of several of the original founders of two of the country’s most prominent Black sororities, Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta. Both organizations volunteer to help with clean ups.

The Perpetual Care Association recently received a grant from the D.C. Office of Planning to help with upkeep of the grounds and preserving the history here.

“These are important individuals who’ve made contributions to the District a century ago, but today still their history and their stories reverberate and really influence the trajectory of our city,” said Anita Cozart, director of the D.C. Office of Planning.

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The cemetery tucked away off Benning Road is only open to the public five days a year, but groups can request tours anytime. The next chance to visit Woodlawn when it will be open to the public is Labor Day.

They’re always looking for volunteers and donors to help with the upkeep of this sacred ground.



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Washington

Parsing Trump’s claims about Washington’s reflecting pool

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13 hours ago

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June 24, 2026

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Parsing Trump’s claims about Washington’s reflecting pool


US President Donald Trump wanted to mark the US’s 250th birthday with a renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on the National Mall.

The makeover, including a new coat of “American Flag blue,” cost taxpayers $16 million (€14.1 million).

But the water is covered in green algae. The blue paint is already peeling. Trump has blamed vandals, while his critics question the project’s transparency and cost.

DW’s Brent Goff and Washington correspondent Janelle Dumalaon unpack the whole fiasco.

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Washington

Social media reacts to former BYU star AJ Dybantsa going No. 1 in 2026 NBA draft

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23 hours ago

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June 23, 2026

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Social media reacts to former BYU star AJ Dybantsa going No. 1 in 2026 NBA draft


Former BYU basketball star AJ Dybantsa fulfilled his dream of going No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA draft.

The Washington Wizards selected Dybantsa with the first pick.

Immediately after the pick, reactions poured in on social media about the Wizards drafting Dybantsa.

Social media reactions to the Washington Wizards selecting BYU star AJ Dybantsa

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

Want more coverage of BYU sports? Take us with you wherever you go.

Download the new and improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. Allows you to stream live radio and video, keeping you up to date on all your favorite teams.

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