On April 25 college students from around Oregon will converge on Salem to lobby for more higher education funding from the Oregon state government in an event called the Oregon Student Rally for Higher Education.
Students from Southern Oregon University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Portland State University, and several other community colleges around Oregon will be attending.
According to a press release from the Oregon Student Association, the organization sponsoring the event, student funding has dropped by 32 percent between 2009 and 2012, and 68 percent of students that graduate this year will carry debt because of their student loans.
“Oregon colleges are the fifth least tax-payer supported colleges in the nation,” said Jazmin Roque, a political science major at SOU and campus organizer for the upcoming rally. “The trends in tuition hikes are not sustainable for students in Oregon. Students are going to Salem because they can’t take it anymore and enough is enough.”
Daniel McCall, OSA director of communications, said this rally is intended to “make a powerful statement to the elected officials in the Oregon state government” and raise awareness about the financial concerns for Oregon college students.
SOU students will be meeting outside the Stevenson Union at 7 a.m. on April 25 to drive to Salem. The organizers ask that you register with them beforehand, contact Torii Uyehara at uyeharat@sou.edu or Sarah Westover at sarah@orstudents.org to get involved.
