Senators, University Presidents, and Students Rally Behind the Pell Grant
Students from across the country kicked off the rally with the chant “Education is under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!.”
Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) reminded attendees that to keep America a super power “we must super educate our young people.”
Victor Sanchez, vice president of the USSA, implores the audience to demand that congressional leaders protect funding to the Pell grant program.
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Young leaders from Campus Progress, United States Student Association, the Ed Trust and Young Invincibles joined university presidents from across the country, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on Capitol Hill to insist that the Pell Grant is an investment in the future of the United States at a time when it’s needed most.
Click here to learn more about the Pell Grant.
Mikulski encouraged young people to use all means possible to relay the message about the importance of protecting Pell. She echoed President Barack Obama’s message of fueling innovation and added that America must “out-educate in order to out-innovate.”
Dr. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University, talked about his experience as the son of Alabama sharecroppers. Wilson did not attend school fulltime until the seventh grade and said his university education, and the education of others like him, would have been impossible without aid similar to Pell grants.
Students implored senate leaders not to make them choose between basic necessities and continuing their education by cutting funding to Pell.
Victor Sanchez, vice president of the USSA, encouraged participants to use every method possible to share the message of the event with congressional leaders, friends and family.
See highlights from the event here:
