Ohio State's students, faculty, staff and alumni will have the opportunity to speak out against the Ohio legislature at a rally for higher education tomorrow.
The rally will unite people from the OSU community and allow them to express their opposition to budget cuts directly affecting higher education.
"We're trying to make people and the state legislature aware that they can't put higher education on the back burner," said Annie Schoening, Undergraduate Student Government senator for the College of Arts and Humanities.
The USG-supported rally will include speakers from the faculty, staff, students and alumni of OSU as well as representatives from other universities in Ohio, said Richard Gunther, professor of political science and coordinator of the ad hoc working group on support of higher education.
The speakers will address the issues of cuts in funding to higher education as well as propose ways to prevent more cuts.
"The rally won't just be a bunch of speeches leading nowhere," Gunther said. "Each speaker will announce important new initiatives that will serve to mobilize and put consistent pressure on the legislature to adequately fund higher education."
In March, Gov. Bob Taft cut $162 million from the Ohio budget, slashing OSU's funding by $7.7 million. The cuts forced OSU to eliminate 600 faculty and staff positions, Gunther said.
The rally is an effort to gain the support of voters to try to prevent other, more damaging cuts to higher education funding.
"We're not going to see any change without them (the legislature) knowing that there are going to be repercussions from the people electing them," said USG President Eddie Pauline.
Gunther said legislators who ignore the issue should be prepared for repercussions in the voting booth.
"Those who consistently oppose higher education in this state should face retribution at the polls in future elections," Gunther said.
Members of the ad hoc group hope to increase awareness of the severity of the issue and make higher education a top priority for Ohio legislators.
"We want to make sure the state legislature knows that support for higher education is key to the future of Ohio in the minds of voters," said Robert Meier, a member of the University Staff Advisory Committee.
The rally will increase awareness of what will happen to higher education if more budget cuts are made.
"If we fail to convince the legislature of the importance of support for higher education, there will be devastating damage over the next two years," Gunther said.
Damages to OSU could include larger class size, more closed-out courses, a shift from regular faculty to more graduate and teaching assistants and a continued increase in tuition, Gunther said.
"It's time we show the state legislature that we care about what happens to our tuition and education," Pauline said.
The rally will take place at noon tomorrow at the intersection of 15th Avenue and North High Street.
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