The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/23/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Lauren Dillard Students from Oregon universities and community colleges prepare for a rally on the Capitol steps in Salem. The rally, at which Governor Ted Kulongoski spoke, hosted more than 500 students.

Under the shadow of Oregon's original pioneer - a gold statue perched atop the Oregon Capitol Building in Salem - students rallied on Thursday in support of higher education.

At 11:45 a.m., buses from Mt. Hood Community College, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Portland State University and other area schools arrived at the capitol.

Snowed in, Southern Oregon University failed to show.

"Legislators, show us the money," chanted Courtney Morse, Oregon Student Association board vice-chair and Portland State University student-body president. Before the speeches began, students led the crowd in chants asking for support of higher education.

"It's been a long time since we've gathered on the Capitol steps," said Megan Driver, OSA board chair and ASOSU director of state affairs.

Students in the crowd were carrying signs that displayed their request for support from legislators and complaints about the current state of higher education.

"Over a decade of disinvestment in post-secondary education has left students paying more," said Key Jackson, Oregon Students of Color Coalition co-chair and WOU student. Jackson mentioned that her education drained her finances so much that she had to quit school for a time to get a full-time job to pay for school.

"Stop paying more and getting less," she said. "Legislators: we need you to put on your chef's hats and cook up this recipe for us."

The recipe she is referring to includes 12 ingredients and one special tool - the Oregon Legislature - to serve 3.7 million Oregonians.

OSA is calling this a recipe for a stronger Oregon. Ingredients include the shared responsibility model - a model to reduce out of pocket costs for working students, the Access to Student Assistance Programs in Reach of Everyone program - a high school-level mentoring program, lower tuition costs, more access to and increased numbers of professors, increased rural access to higher education and an increase in the quality of educational facilities.

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