More than 100 students from across Florida stood on the front steps of the old Capitol building Wednesday to show their dedication to higher education investment.
Forty-one of those students were from UF.
Rally in Tally is an annual event put on by the Florida Student Association, an organization of all the state university Student Body presidents. Its main goal is for students to advocate for issues that are important to them.
They wore red shirts with “Rally in Tally” written on the front and the Aim Higher logo with all 12 state universities listed on the back.
“We’re happy that, despite the weather, this event was still a success,” said Kim Wilmath, director of communications for the State University System of Florida.
Students listened while Frank Brogan, chancellor of the state university system, discussed investing in higher education, Wilmath said. Brogan said the university system has an $80 billion annual economic impact on Florida.
Wilmath said the rally came at a good time, as Florida lawmakers have indicated their interests in supporting higher education this year.
“It’s clear members of both the House and Senate know that higher education is a good investment,” she said.
This comes after the university system suffered cuts of $300 million last year — the sixth straight year of higher education budget cuts, Wilmath said.
Davis Bean was one of the UF students in Tallahassee.
“I really believe in the Aim Higher initiative we’ve been pushing for,” the 20-year-old political science sophomore said. “I think this was a great way to push the message.”
