If not, I totally think you should. For the past couple of weeks, Berkeley has been fighting to keep the TAG for the students. Today when I got home from class, I logged on to check my email and came across an email that said "TAG Update-Great News" That was definitely a great thing to see in my inbox! If you have yet to see this, or did not receive this email, I would like to share it with you. TAG is very important for many students and can even affect some individuals education, so by hearing about all the efforts our students and staff have been making, we are one step closer to saving those educations.
The following is the email I received today from Teri Duda:
Dear Berkeley College Student:
Great news!
Assemblywoman Connie Wagner, who represents the 38th District (which includes Paramus), and Senator Sandra Cunningham, who represents the 31st District (which includes Jersey City and Bayonne), have sponsored resolutions in the Assembly (#28) and the Senate (#68). These resolutions are in support of our issues regarding TAG funding.
Both of the resolutions are being sent to key legislators throughout the state in partnership efforts with the legislative offices that sponsored the resolutions (Wagner & Cunningham) and the New Jersey External Affairs Department at Berkeley College. These efforts include follow up visits and phone calls, as well as letters written from the External Affairs office. Several Senators and Assembly members have already signed onto the resolutions and the momentum is building.
In addition to directing these strategic efforts with the legislators, over 1,600 individuals have sent over 13,000 emails under the supervision and encouragement of Dr. Ed Hughes, Dean of Student Development and Campus Life for New Jersey.
As many of you know, we received prime coverage in the Star Ledger, Brooklyn's Daily Challenge and we were referred to in a Wall Street Journal article. This coverage is due to the efforts of Ilene Greenfield, Director of Media Relations for Berkeley College. I have been informed by people in the Governor's office that he is well aware of our press.
On Monday, June 1st, my office put together a campaign directed at gaining the support of all of the chambers we are affiliated with throughout the state and this coverage is substantial. We have asked them to join us in our email campaign. This recent effort has already received a positive response from the business sector.
We are also in the process of engaging the mayors from our campus municipalities to send letters on behalf of Berkeley College to the Governor's office.
Senator Robert Menendez has contacted the Governor and we are in the process of asking Senator Frank Lautenberg to do the same.
All of these efforts show great progress but we must keep the pressure on until the final budget deadline, which is July 1st. We are in a critical stage as many final budget decisions will be made in the next few weeks.
If you have an opportunity to speak with your Assembly or Senate representative, please do so. If you are a letter writer; write a letter. If you have any questions, or need information about your specific legislative district, please reach out to Laura DeMers at extension 1794 or lad@berkeleycollege.edu .
Should anyone have any other suggestions, my office would be happy to receive them and to activate them if it seems appropriate.
Encourage your friends and family to join our campaign - your support and their support is greatly appreciated! If you are already part of the campaign, please continue to participate! If you have any questions regarding joining the email campaign, please reference the instructions below; it takes about five minutes. For further information, please reach out to Dr. Hughes at extension 1318 or ejh@berkeleycollege.edu.
Click on the link: http://capwiz.com/berkeleycollege/home/ Click on: Take Action. Fill in requested information. Click on: Send Message. The Berkeley College Letter in the text box will be sent.
Thank you!
Let us all continue to work to do the right thing and retain the TAG program.
Sincerely,
Teri Duda
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
Berkeley College
This is excellent news and we need to continue our efforts of pushing to keep the TAG until July 1st! Recently on blackboard, we now get a pop up about sending out the letter. Take 5 minutes of your time and simply click ok. From there, it will bring you onto another screen where you just need to type in the required information and your letter will be sent. Some students have been receiving emails back, so it's important that you speak with them about your concerns. We can make a difference if we keep pushing this issue and stop from them taking our TAG away!!!
On another note, make sure you have selected your classes for the summer 2009 quarter! If not, you face the chance of not being able to enroll in classes you originally had plans on enrolling in. Only 3 weeks are left in the Spring quarter, so make sure you are keeping up on your work and not slacking! This would be the worst time! Also, finals are approaching, so make sure you have all the needed materials to study and pass those exams!!!
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