Fla. Students Rally for Bright Futures

Photo credit: Collin C. Chappelle/The Famuan Students marched from Florida State University down Tallahassee's College Avenue to the Capitol for the "Rally in Tally."

More than 1,000 Florida college students, parents and other advocates for higher education joined forces at a rally at Florida's Capitol in Tallahassee to help improve higher education and hold legislators accountable.

The March 17 "Rally in Tally" was sponsored by the FORCE Coalition.

FORCE, which stands for "Fighting for Our Rights Concerning Education," was created by 24 student organizations at Florida State University to combat cuts to state-supported scholarships reductions in aid to higher education, and tuition increases.

"This rally was so important, because if Bright Futures and other state-supported scholarships are taken away, many students won't be able to pay for college and get the education they need to succeed and help give back to this state and this country," said April Gale, a freshman communications student at Florida Atlantic University.

With the Florida Student Association reporting that $484 million has been cut from higher education in Florida since 1990, the FORCE Coalition declared its main objectives to be stopping excessive tuition increases, ending budget cuts to higher education, increasing the amount of need-based state aid, and saving the Bright Futures scholarship program http://www.firn.edu/doe/bin00072/home0072.htm.

The state says that during the 2002-2003 award year, more than 110,000 Florida students received funding for Bright Futures Scholarships, awards funded by the Florida Lottery that are open to students who graduate from high school with a B average.

"I didn't come to the rally for me, I came for my family," said Jennifer Garrett, a junior business student at Florida State University. "I have younger cousins who will be attending college and they have Florida prepaid scholarships . . . that should not be taken away from them and they should have a chance to get a quality education without worrying about financial burdens."

Members of the coalition and their supporters agreed that the march was effective and that the rally was a step toward influencing change in Florida's educational system.

In coming months, the FORCE Coalition plans to meet with legislators to campaign actively for students' educational rights.

"A wise person once said half the battle is showing up," said Artvia Wilborn, a junior business management student from Florida State. "In order to get what we need from the Legislature and Florida's education system, we rallied together to show that we are united and will do whatever it takes to support those people in powerful positions that will make a positive difference on behalf of Florida's students."

Malcolm Glover, a student at Florida A&M University, writes for The Famuan. He can be reached at [email protected].

Posted March 22, 2004