Walk it Out Penn State

On Monday April 4th I had finished my morning classes starting at an unspeakable 8 AM and was looking forward to going back to my dorm to take a quick nap before my next class and a busy day  of work. My friend reminded me on my walk back from class that there was going to be a rally at Old Main at 12PM for students to collectively assemble against the cuts in state appropriations in preparation for Capital Day in Harrisburg the following day.

When he reminded me of the rally I thought once more about my restful nap and then decided to support myself, the other students, and the future of Penn State by showing the administration and the local politicians that we are outraged at the cuts we are facing, and we as students will take collective action for our school and our education.

Though I was grumpy after all my morning classes, when I arrived at the rally I was rejuvenated by the energy of the crowd and happy I came. There were what seemed like a couple hundred students gathered, more students than I have ever seen at a Penn State rally for tuition.  There we bongo drums and signs and plenty of media attention.  Our voice was being heard on Monday even if it was only in the surrounding Penn State community.

Students, Union Leaders, administration, and local politicians all went to the podium to speak out against the budget cuts for education. Many students shared their personal tuition stories, and finally one junior came to the podium to close with her personal story.  She began to speak of education as an emancipating force, like so many other speakers we had heard. After her intro though, her story became real.  She told her audience how she dropped out of high school after having her second child, and then four children later she applied to Penn State. She was accepted and lives in town, and is now a junior about to obtain her degree.  I stood in the audience dumbfounded. This is why we have to fight for the right to an affordable education. Because education is a second chance, it is a way for people stuck in poverty to make a stable lives for themselves. It is a way for a young mother of four to get the skills for a job that will be high paying enough to support her four children.  This was a story of the power of education, but it carried a haunting tone.  I could not stop thinking that success stories such as this will disappear with the rise in cost of higher education from lack of funding. If the state appropriation cuts stay the way they are, we will lose the dream of the middle class. A dream of making a name for yourself that is embedded in our country's history. On Monday Penn State Walked it Out and showed its commitment to making this dream live on.