Multiple student groups and hundreds of students plan to flock to the State Capitol at 11:30 a.m. today as part of a “Rally for Higher Education,” protesting continued cuts in state funding to colleges and universities.
The protest, originally planned and spearheaded by University of New Orleans-based group “Save UNO,” has expanded to include students from LSU, Southern University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Nicholls State University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
LSU group Proud Students has thrown its support behind the protest.
The group is organized largely through Facebook, linking budget cut activism groups at individual universities into a makeshift coalition including Save UNO, Proud Students, Nicholls’ Stand Up for Higher Education and ULL’s Links for Literacy.
Some of these organizations will bus in students from the campuses further away from Baton Rouge.
The Louisiana State Police will make a strong showing after concerns were raised that fringe groups with possible anarchist ties might hijack the protest for more violent means.
An April protest on UNO’s campus resulted in the temporary occupation of two buildings, a brief scuffle with police and several student arrests. Police say anarchist groups such as New Orleans-based Occupy Louisiana were involved in the disturbance.
Protest organizers have made it clear the event is not intended to turn violent.
State police say participants should park in the River Road parking lot near the Pentagon Barracks and railroad tracks.
Save UNO has three main goals it wishes to convey to state leaders — “stop layoffs to faculty and staff, stop the tuition hikes and fully fund higher education.”
The protest comes four days after the LSU System Board of Supervisors approved a $5.1 million mid-year cut to LSU’s campus. Higher education institutions throughout the state had to make similar cuts as state leaders scrambled to fill a $106 million hole in the budget.
 
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Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]