Amidst chants of “Don’t cheat the future” and “Don’t leave students out in the cold,” about 25 students Wednesday protested the $250 million in proposed UW System cuts.

The students stood, protest signs in hand, at the clock tower on Campus Mall with four symbolically empty desks sitting in front of them.

Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed budget, unveiled at Tuesday night to the state Legislature, unfairly targets students, said sophomore Rachel Boaz, Student Senate state budget campaign coordinator.

Although the governor promised no new taxes, “an increase in tuition is a tax on education,” junior Ryan Maxwell told the crowd.

Assistant political science professor Geoff Peterson told the crowd that the System is the only organization enduring significant cuts. Other state institutions merely are experiencing a slowdown in growth, he said.

The System cuts could mean larger class sizes and greater burdens on faculty, Peterson said. Essentially, Doyle is forcing students to choose between a quality education and one that is affordable, he said.

The clock tower rally initiated joint efforts by Senate’s state budget campaign and the UW student lobbying group United Council to ensure students aren’t unfairly burdened by budget cuts, Boaz said. In all, Doyle’s proposal aims to cut $3.2 billion to balance the state budget.

United Council’s campaign is called “Fund Wisconsin’s Future,” and its goals include minimizing tuition increases and cuts in funding for higher education in Wisconsin. The group also has identified five budget priorities for the 2003-05 biennium.

These goals include capping tuition increases, fully implementing the link between tuition and financial aid increases, and excluding student segregated fees from budget cuts.

“I want every student in the UW System to get active,” Boaz said. “Students shouldn’t have to pay for Madison’s mistakes. From here is where the real work starts.”

The “real work” will involve grassroots efforts including mass e-mails and postcard-writing campaigns, Boaz said.

She also is working to assemble a group of students to travel April 3 to Madison for a System-wide rally. She said she is hoping to get at least 40 students to attend the trip.

Junior Alysia Tessling, who attended Wednesday’s rally, will be one of those students.

“The budget is about to be balanced on our backs,” Tessling said. “And that’s not fair.”

Senior Jeff Lepper hadn’t planned on attending Wednesday’s rally, but ended up standing with the other students.

The proposed cuts are unfair and call into question the government’s social responsibility, Lepper said.

Boaz said she was pleased with the rally’s turnout.

“I’m so happy with it,” she said. “It shows students care about the issue.”