Leigh Guidry

lguidry@gannett.com

Louisiana college students have a message for their legislators — they care about their schools. And they plan to show it Wednesday with a rally on the steps of the state Capitol to fight for higher education.

“We hope to demonstrate the importance of us, the students, to the future of the state,” said Jesse Elliot, student body president of Louisiana State University of Alexandria and chair of the Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents. “... Our biggest hope is two-fold. First, that this thing is massive with as much participation as is appropriate for something this important. Our second, ambitious hope is that this is the last time we have to fight for higher education.”

The Bring H.E.A.T., or Bring Higher Education All Together, rally is expected to attract students from all corners of the state, representing colleges and universities in all state systems as well as private institutions. They probably will be easy to spot, as organizers have asked students to wear red in support of higher education and befitting the heat theme.

Central Louisiana Technical Community College expects 75 of its students, faculty and staff to attend. Louisiana College reports it is sending a “van-load.” Northwestern State University has a charter bus in addition to those students carpooling, Student Government Association President Matthew Whitaker said. Grambling State University has about 100, too, SGA Director of Media Relations Taylor Stewart said.

“We care about our university,” Stewart said. “If we didn’t care we wouldn’t be bringing 100 people.”

Not every school has a headcount, but they do plan to be represented.

“We will have a presence,” Elliott said.

The Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents, which represents more than 200,000 students currently enrolled at a Louisiana public post-secondary institution, is organizing the event with coordination assistance from the Board of Regents. The COSBP put out a “call to action” through social media to “all college students, parents and friends.”

“The time is now to show why our schools are important to Louisiana and its future,” according to an event on Facebook. “We must show state leaders that higher education is all together in this fight for adequate funding for our schools. Let’s show our strength in numbers by attending this rally!”

Now is the time because Louisiana higher education is facing a worst-case scenario of $242 million in budget cuts by June and loss of the TOPS scholarship program after years of devastating cuts. The rally was planned to coincide with the state Legislature special session because that is when decisions on the budget are being made, Elliott said.

While the rally begins at noon Wednesday, there are related events throughout the day. Public universities will have displays in the Capitol Rotunda from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be a DJ, cheerleaders, mascots and more “to drum up some excitement” before the rally begins.

The rally will feature speakers from student leaders, including Elliott, which will be followed by a meeting between the Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents and Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Whitaker, a senior at Northwestern State, said it’s appropriate for college presidents to step in and take action in this way. And he’s ready.

“Anytime a crisis is happening, whether it’s on our respective campuses or in the state, it’s kind of the protocol for the president to take action,” he said. “I feel like it’s very exciting for me to be able to jump into this right away ... especially at a time when we need all universities to come together.”

He said the budget crisis and cuts to TOPS have unified students and increased awareness on the Natchitoches campus.

“Definitely campus has been shaken up,” he said. “I’m finally seeing students come together. It’s not often a storyline affects all students on campus. ... The stories have taken our campus by storm.”

So they’re taking that awareness and unity to the capital, passing it on to legislators and the governor.

“For me, it’s very simple,” Whitaker said. “I want them to just be aware that we really, really care about our education. We care about our universities. ... This is something we’re passionate about.”

That passion extends to campuses across the state.

“I think the reason we’ve all been so outspoken, so passionate, is because it doesn’t just affect us directly,” Elliott said. “Without business degrees, we don’t have business leaders. Without psychology degrees, we don’t have counselors. Without higher education, there is nothing else. Without educated leaders we can’t have business leaders, government leaders.”

Whitaker and Elliott, like many college presidents, are seniors and likely will graduate before some of the proposed cuts could affect them. But they’re worried about students coming after them.

“It’s not so much the effect to me directly but the students I represent and the effect to our state and society,” Elliott said. “... We’re No. 1 in cuts to higher education. Constitutionally, the only things we can cut are higher education and health care. That’s not a sustainable system. “

Stewart, a junior at Grambling, has seen her university suffer cuts each year while battling its own deficit, she said.

“Another ginormous budget cut is really going to affect the school as a whole,” she said. “I’m an out-of-state student, so I’m nervous. With me graduating next year, I do want to have a school to come back to.”

There are mixed feelings on campus, but students are concerned, she said.

“They want to know they will be able to graduate and their degrees will mean something,” Stewart said. “They want to know their programs won’t be cut.”

Students statewide are expressing similar concerns.

“It’s pivotal we get the answers that we want — to protect our schools,” Whitaker said. “We don’t want schools to merge. We don’t want faculty laid off. ... I don’t want to see schools close.”

It’s not just students. The Shreveport-Bossier Business Alliance for Higher Education launched an online petition Monday asking legislators to support funding for higher education, collecting 750 signatures in 24 hours. This petition at www.savelafuture.org will run through the end of the week before it is hand-delivered to legislators in Baton Rouge, according to the SBBA.

The SBBA also plans to be a part of the fight for higher education Wednesday. Following the rally, students from the area will meet with the Northwest Louisiana delegation.

Follow Leigh Guidry on Twitter @Leigh_TownTalk for live updates during Wednesday’s rally.

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