About 30 University students concerned about the impending budget crisis facing the University met Thursday night in the Vieux Carre room of the Student Union to expand their understanding of how the cuts will affect Louisiana as a whole.Naci Mocan, E. J. Ourso distinguished chair of economics, presented a dissertation to the students on the effects of higher education budget cuts as they pertain to state aspects outside the immediate University.Mocan began his presentation by discussing the potential effects of the 15 percent cuts to state University support, including class size, quality of education and the value of a diploma.Mocan said while the value of a University diploma may decrease as the University’s rankings fall, it is more important to recognize the effects of decreasing the educational value of college attendance.”It’s not just a diploma but a high quality of education that matters,” Mocan said.Mocan’s presentation focused on the importance of human capital, which includes all the factors that make labor productive. Mocan presented graphs which showed the correlation between a nation’s education and its gross domestic product. The graphs showed as education increases, so does GDP, and this importance has grown over time.Because 85 percent of University undergraduates and 53 percent of University graduate students are from Louisiana, Mocan predicated a significant number of them will remain in the state after graduation.”The bottom line is this— lets not sink the flagship because educating the residents of Louisiana will benefit not only the people but the state as well.”Mocan also promoted the importance of funding elementary and secondary education in Louisiana.”There are areas where taxes will reduce the state burden,” Mocan said. “But I am not promoting taking money blindly from somewhere and putting it somewhere else.”Mocan ended his presentation by telling students it was important for them to speak out to their state representatives so they can help divert the damage from budget cuts.”I wanted to see what the options are for LSU,” said Rocio Pineda, international trade and finance freshman. “You just try to take advantage of the resources, and do your best to be more productive in the future.”Student Government Sen. Greg Upton, E.J. Ourso College of Business and chief economic advisor to SG, planned the presentation during his bid for SG president earlier in the semester.”My main motivation was to have the students understand the budget cuts are bigger than just LSU, so when they talk to the state senate, they’ll have more validity to what they’re saying,” Upton said.——Contact Adam Duvernay at [email protected]