Palmeri Seconds Amato's Call For UW Tuition Freeze

CONTACT: Tony Palmeri (920) 203-9749 Tony@TonyPalmeri.com

54th District Assembly candidate Tony Palmeri (Green Party) today praised outgoing UW Regent Nino Amato's eloquent speech, delivered at the August 19th Board of Regents meeting, in which he called for a tuition freeze. Palmeri, an associate professor of communication at UW Oshkosh, called for a five-year moratorium on tuition increases at a candidates' forum in May.

"What a tragedy that the Doyle administration forced Nino Amato off the Board of Regents," said Palmeri. "Dr. Amato's passionate call for the state to ensure access to a high quality, affordable higher education for all Wisconsin citizens is exactly the kind of message that needs to be coming from the Board of Regents."

Palmeri agreed with Amato's contention that a tuition freeze would "prompt an intensive political discussion and debate on higher education priorities and would force our politicians . . . to make choices that are in the best interest of our students."

Palmeri said that a good starting point for discussion would be the Graft Tax exposed last year by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. "We can afford a tuition freeze if we simply have the political courage to say NO to the powerful interests controlling the Democratic and Republican leadership in Madison," said Palmeri. "As a Green I enthusiastically second Nino Amato's call for clean government and putting the needs of students and their families ahead of politics as usual."