More than 100 students from colleges throughout the state gathered at the state Capitol April 2 to deliver a petition to Gov. Ned Lamont demanding full funding.
The petition reads, in part, “We…call on Governor Lamont and state legislators to fully fund public higher education in Connecticut. We demand that Connecticut commits to stable, long-term funding that allows our colleges and universities to thrive.”
It held the signatures of 1,286 students from across the system.
The move came after the governor released a budget for the state earlier this year that includes more than $6 million in cuts, including reduced funding for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system. CSCU is made up of the four state universities, the 12 community colleges and Charter Oak State College.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow, realizing that no matter all my hard work I may well be held back simply because of how public schools are funded,” said Dwayne Small, a senior at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, who had plans to continue his education at one of the community colleges.
Eric Diaz is already pursuing his degree in one of the health careers programs at CT State Gateway in New Haven.
“These colleges and universities shape the future of health care, education and public safety, ensuring our communities remain healthy, supporting and strong for years to come,” he said.
The press conference began at 12:27 p.m. with students crowding around a podium holding signs to enhance the messages from the speakers: “No Tuition Hikes,” “#ThriveTogether,” “Invest In Public Higher Ed.”
Katerina Soto, a student at Capital Community College in Hartford, said she and other students have been informing students and gathering signatures for the petition since the spring semester began in late January.
“Our goal was a thousand students and I think we got over the goal because it was such a passionate thing,” she said. “Like, so many are interested. They’re like ‘I need funding, like I need money.’ Like it’s not something that we can just avoid, because this is our future. Like there’s nothing else.”
The effort to get the legislature and the governor to increase funding already has some support. State Rep. Gregg Haddad, a Democrat representing Mansfield, began the press conference by stating the importance of a college degree in today’s job market.
“Over a lifetime an individual will earn $1.2 million more if they have a college degree than not,” said Haddad, who sits on the Appropriations Committee and is chairperson of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee. “We are listening closely to the people most impacted and so I’m here to raise up the voices of students.”
At the end of the conference the group, led by Kya Hunter of CT State Housatonic in Bridgeport, climbed the stairs from the hall of flags to the governor’s office to deliver the petition. Hunter said she had to act because she “hears the needs of the school” through her classes and extracurricular activities.
The feeling of urgency is what also brought Christina Bean, a sociology major at Central Connecticut State University, to the capitol building.
“Higher education shouldn’t be a luxury…we need to take better steps in that [state funded higher education] direction, especially state schools,” she said.
Lamont was not in, but the petition was left with his office staff.
“We’re going to keep pushing,” said Hunter.
