University alumni, gubernatorial candidates and concerned students and faculty found common ground on the steps of the State Capitol on Thursday.
Together, they marched to the Capitol to protest potential budget cuts to higher education after the last attempt on April 15 showed a lack of student involvement.
The “Make the Change” march was the second attempt to combat the state’s proposed $600 million cut to higher education. Student Government, the LSU Alumni Association and Geaux Vote LSU spent a month organizing the protest.
Students, faculty and other University advocates met at 12:30 p.m. at A.Z. Young Park and began the march to the steps of the Capitol at 1 p.m.
The march, sponsored by the LSU Alumni Association, got its start when LSU President F. King Alexander said the University may file for financial exigency, or academic bankruptcy.
Stacey Messina, director of marketing and communications for the Alumni Association, said though the protest served as a follow-up to its predecessor, the two differed in organization.
“This protest is organized by LSU’s main campus and has been much more heavily promoted than the last, which was the result of collaboration between Southern University and several other state universities,” Messina said.
Though student-organized, the event was open to the public. Alumni Association President Cliff Vannoy said he encouraged all University supporters to attend.
“It’s time for the Louisiana Legislature to protect our students — our future alumni — and find alternative solutions to the budget shortfall,” Vannoy said in a news release. “We’re putting the faces of those students at the steps of the Capitol to remind legislators their decisions impact the lives that are the future of Louisiana.”
The Facebook event page “Make the Change, March the Capitol” showed 1,800 expected attendees the night before the march. More than 1,000 showed up.
Gubernatorial candidates state Rep. John Bel Edwards and Cody Wells, on behalf of Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, gave speeches to those present. State Sen. Dan Claitor also spoke about the potential cuts.
Wells, a University alumnus and former SG president, spoke for Dardenne when he said citizen approval is essential for success in lawmaking.
“More public support in the Legislature is needed,” Wells said.
Edwards, Dardenne’s opponent, agreed with his competitor’s words. Bel Edwards said he has been fighting proposals for higher education budget cuts for the past seven years.
“Enough is enough,” Edwards said.
While listening to speeches, attendees engaged in a letter-writing campaign. Organizers plan to hand-deliver the letters to legislators’ offices.
Messina said the Alumni Association wants legislators to see the faces and read the words of those whose educational careers would be altered by their decisions.
Protesters ranged from University professors to students from LSU and other universities.
University history professor Maribel Dietz called the 82 percent cuts a “national embarrassment” that reflects poorly on the state.
“For a student trying to graduate in four years, it’s going to get harder and harder,” Dietz said.
English senior Lauren Jensen said the cuts only exacerbate Louisiana’s low national ranking in higher education. She said she went to the protest to protect the education of future students.
“I’m lucky that I’m getting out now, but it’s really unfortunate,” she said.
Aside from a strong University presence, there were also students from University of Louisiana at Lafayette in attendance.
English graduate students Lucy Biederman and Jennifer Morrison said LSU’s potential financial exigency status has a ripple effect on other colleges in the state. They cited an example as simple as their textbooks, saying they get books from the University’s libraries.
Morrison said as the flagship university, LSU needs to have clout throughout the U.S. so its satellite schools will succeed as well.
“We’ll be really affected by LSU being affected,” Biederman said.
The Jindal administration’s budget cuts drew people from all walks of life together, first to a park in downtown Baton Rouge and ultimately to the state’s postcard tourist attraction.
Whatever their reasons were, protesters were all united in one respect — their mission to save their colorful flagship University from a dismal bankruptcy.