Devon Lawson Appointed to Oregon Higher Ed Commission
I am writing in my personal capacity as a student and advocate. My views are my own and do not represent the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), the State of Oregon or the LCC Bond Oversight Committee.
This May, I ran for the Lane Community College Board, Zone 3, because I’ve lived the struggles we all face, balancing shifts with classes, scraping by on EBT while dreaming big as a first-generation student. As someone inspired by Murray Bookchin’s vision of communal, ecological justice, I believe deeply in radical change. That means redistributing wealth equally, prioritizing social justice by directing resources to those hit hardest, and building sustainable communities where everyone thrives. It’s not abstract, it’s us, lifting each other from inequality’s grip.
I campaigned to reopen LCC’s DEI office, safeguard our campus from ICE, and waive tuition for low-income students like us, ensuring opportunities flow to the working-class families who need them most. Imagine a world where education isn’t a luxury, but a right, where we turn shared hardships into collective power, like neighbors banding together against a storm. That’s what I want.
Though the vote didn’t go my way, here’s our real win. Gov. Tina Kotek nominated me, and the Oregon Senate appointed me to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Now, I’m expanding that fight statewide, advocating for strategic funding that boosts affordability, like enhanced aid programs; pushing inclusive policies to foster diverse, safe campuses; and recommending budgets that prioritize student access and equity across every Oregon college. We’re talking real momentum. Opposing progress feels out of step when fairness is on the line.
Students, faculty and classified staff at Lane, this is our moment. We’ve faced rising costs and barriers, but together, we rise. Email me at lawsonforlane@gmail.com with your ideas, questions, or stories; I want to dialogue from your vantage point, building unity. Please join this wave of hope. Our empathy, courage, and conviction will touch millions in Oregon, proving justice isn’t radical; it’s essential.
In solidarity,
Devon Lawson
LCC Student
Bottom line?
Lane’s budget director and other administrators are telling us that we have to cut literature courses and many others because we simply don’t have enough money. (It’s not, they claim, an ideological move or a response to Trump’s attack on education.) All we need to save them is more money.
Here’s an idea that won’t be popular in some quarters, but I kind of like it: cut all administrators’ salaries by 3% and all contracted faculty salaries by 2% and use the savings to rescue those courses.
A long-term solution is to elect legislators with the courage to raise taxes.
Lane is turning into something very different from what the community thinks it is, and what it has been since its founding. We need to be aware of this dramatic shift and have some serious conversation about it. I hope students will participate in this conversation.
Jeffery Harrison
LCC instructor
