Edward Hermes, student regent

Classes have started on the campuses of Arizona’s publicly funded universities, and issues like tuition rates and textbook costs are on the minds of students and parents alike.
While all college students feel the impact of administrative policies, only one has the ability to directly influence those policies as a voting student member of the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body of Arizona’s public university system.
“I like to think that I work well with the students, listen to their concerns and represent them correctly at the board,” said student regent Edward Hermes, 22, an Arizona State University senior with double majors in political science and history.
“I try to go out to each of the school systems and create more contacts and really represent the students,” he said.
Mr. Hermes, who was appointed to his position in November 2005, will continue to advocate for the students of ASU, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona until his term ends in June 2007. (Another student representative on the Board of Regents does not vote.)
Although the student bodies at the three universities are diverse, Mr. Hermes said his peers tend to back a short list of issues.
“Affordability is always at the top of the priorities for students,” he said.
“I talk to students every day who say textbooks are getting more expensive, tuition and fees are getting more expensive and financial aid, especially federal aid, is not keeping pace.”
The federal Government Accountability Office released a report in July 2005 saying textbook prices increased an average of 6 percent per year over the last 20 years — double the rate of inflation. The price nearly tripled from 1986 to 2004.
Mr. Hermes will also be leading a regents task force on textbook prices, which he says are growing at a rate that can’t possibly be justified by inflation.
“We’re bringing together administrators, faculty and students to discuss and evaluate the rising costs of textbooks,” Mr. Hermes said.
“I’m hoping that some recommendations are going to come out of this for new board policies that are going to significantly decrease the cost of textbooks for students in the Arizona university system,” he said.
The task force will include two senior administrators and two students from each university, plus other faculty members. Meetings will start in September, with a final report expected to be ready for the regents by January.
In addition to keeping higher education as affordable as possible, Mr. Hermes says the Board of Regents hopes to enhance the value of college degrees by educating students about life after graduation.
“We’re hiring more career counselors who can work with students on an individual one-on-one basis, help students learn how to effectively write up resumes, go to interviews and negotiate with employers,” he said.
Mr. Hermes said he applied for his current position because he felt the needs of students were sometimes falling on deaf ears at the state Capitol and that they could use better representation.
Students and voting
Despite his efforts as student regent, Mr. Hermes maintains that the opinions of his peers won’t matter until they represent themselves en masse in the voting booth.
“The people who you vote for are going to make decisions on how much your university is funded and how much financial aid you receive,” he added.
“I think once students really realize these things, they are going to want to vote.”
Mr. Hermes said that college students move frequently and need to register to vote more often than other citizens, adding that the situation will improve when volunteers are mobilized to educate students about how the system works.
“We’re going to register a lot more voters this year and hopefully turn out a lot of students to vote across the state,” he said.
Born in Illinois and reared in Arizona, the voting student regent was previously director of the Government Relations Department at ASU’s undergraduate student government.
Mr. Hermes was voted into office by the state Senate after Governor Napolitano selected him from a pool of three candidates who had been nominated for the position by the Board of Associated Students of Arizona.