Last Thursday, a group of UA students travelled to Montgomery to participate in the annual Higher Education Day, sponsored by the Higher Education Partnership.
Gov. Robert Bentley, who claimed in his speech to have had the greatest amount of higher education of any Alabama governor in history, promised that even though times are hard and funding is lean, higher education will continue to see increased funding.
“Even though we don’t have a lot of money, I said I wanted to make sure higher education is adequately funded,” Bentley said. “We actually are going to increase next year’s budget for higher education from this past year.”
The UA students joined nearly two thousand students from most four-year universities in the state on the steps of the Alabama State House to advocate more funding for post-secondary educational institutions.
Marching bands from various schools stood outside the State House and played music while other students held signs that bore messages encouraging legislators to give colleges and universities their fair share of education funding.
Speakers at the event included the governor, Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey, executive director of the Higher Education Partnership Gordon Stone and many others.
Bentley acknowledged the fact that money invested in higher education will help the future economic condition of the state.
“We want to continue to help higher education as it is a part of economic development,” he said.
Still, others believe that higher education is not receiving its share of funding from the state.
“We have to demand the one third of the education budget that higher education is entitled to,” Stone said to the cheers of spectators. “Without it, universities cannot be adequately funded, which in turn will negatively affect the economy and job creation in the state.”
Currently, K-12 receives 73 percent of education money while colleges and universities receive the remaining 27 percent.
Fewer dollars spent on higher education results in fewer available scholarships and more students graduating with massive student loan debt.
“Last year, the number of students who entered college in Alabama who were on student loans was at 72 percent,” said Stone. “How do we fix that? We do a better job of getting back to one third of the education trust fund.”
Many students at the event held signs that displayed slogans such as “It’s not rocket science; don’t raise tuition” and “You had your chance; give us ours.”
Students should contact their legislators often and show their support for higher education, said Jacksonville State University professor Lori Owens, who serves as chairwoman of the Higher Education Partnership.
“Please reach out to your hometown legislators, so they realize that you are a voting member of society,” she said.
Although the state is facing hard economic times, Stone believes that investing in the future leaders of Alabama is the only way to turn Alabama’s economy around.
