Student MEA member testifies on bill to help UMaine System students with tuition

WMTW-TV (Channel 8 in Portland) and WABI-TV (Channel 5 in Bangor) featured the testimony of University of Maine Student MEA member Liam Anderson in coverage of L.D. 512, a bill that would provide 50% tuition vouchers to Maine residents who get a high school diploma between 2023 and 2025, live in Maine at the time they enroll in a University of Maine System school, pursue a degree full time during those years, and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA from their sophomore through senior years. “We’re struggling to financially justify going to a university,” Anderson, a junior majoring in Child Development and Family Relations (Early Childhood Education), told the Maine Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. “These tuition waivers can provide an equitable opportunity, parallel and justifiable to our free community college programs.” UMaine has the largest Student MEA chapter in the state. Anderson serves on the MEA Government Relations committee.