UofL’s group will join college students from around the state at the annual Rally for Higher Education. SGA encourages members of UofL’s faculty and staff to join them on the trip.
The group will ask legislators not to make cuts to higher education funding and to fund new capital projects, said SGA President O.J. Oleka.
This is a critical time, said Oleka, who also is chair of the Board of Student Body Presidents in Kentucky. We need to push for funding for higher education. Higher education is an investment for the entire state.
Further budget cuts, he said, would cause progress in higher education to stall. The result would be fewer college-educated citizens and lower-paying jobs around the commonwealth.
Kentucky’s colleges and universities have suffered nine state budget cuts in the past 10 years, and there is a realistic prospect that the institutions will be hit with more state budget cuts during the upcoming budget cycle.
UofL has encouraged lawmakers this session to restore base funding, fund maintenance and operations, fund a new classroom building and keep the Bucks for Brains program alive.
Buses for the Rally on Higher Education will leave the circle between the Student Activities Center and the parking garage at 11 a.m. The rally will begin on the capitol steps at 1 p.m. and will include addresses from Oleka and Gov. Steve Beshear.
SGA is providing transportation, a boxed lunch and a free T-shirt for attendees. To register, send an e-mail to rallyforhighered@gmail.com, and include the following information: name, year in school or faculty/staff post, e-mail address, shirt size, phone number, lunch (turkey, ham or vegetarian), and the senator in your home district.