Another student organization designed to advocate against cuts in funding to higher education has emerged, according to a Thursday news release.
EducateLA, the new nonprofit organization, consists of about 25 students attending two- and four-year public universities and colleges across Louisiana, according to John Parker Ford, EducateLA chief communications officer and mass communication junior.
Ford said the group’s mission is to recruit students from around the state and gain alliances within the Legislature by asking individual representatives to pledge to protect and improve higher education.
EducateLA has four main goals:
-To limit the state-appropriated cuts for education to less than 10 percent
-To prioritize higher education within the state
-To require a clear, consistent funding formula from the Board of Regents
-To reduce “bureaucracy costs” in higher education
Though the organization’s objectives appear to be similar to other advocate groups, EducateLA and Student Government President J Hudson insisted it will be “something that has never been done before.”
Ford agreed, saying the group is different from other student groups in that it is recognized by the state as an official corporation, has private donors and will launch an advertising campaign later this month.
Details about the campaign will be announced March 31 at a news conference, Ford said. The location has not yet been confirmed.
“We have to remind our legislators that students have the most at stake when it comes to the higher education budget,” Hudson said in the release. “It is the determination of whether our education, and ultimately our degree, means something significant in the future.”
Ford said the group has met with about six state representatives to date and is actively scheduling more meetings.
 
—-
Contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]