Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Community College Students Rally at State Capitol

Photos and Story by James Hill

Under the theme, "CCOSAC: 25 Years of Serving Community College Students," community college students from across the state will gather on the Capitol steps Wednesday, March 3, at 10:30 a.m. to give voice to student concerns.

Activities will focus on two priorities students want state funding of the Child Care Block Grant program and an increase in Oregon Need Grant awards for low-income students.

The rally is sponsored by the Community Colleges of Oregon Student Association Commissions (CCOSAC), which was organized in 1971 and now represents nearly 350,000 Oregon community college students. For 25 years, CCOSAC has worked to eliminate barriers to education, focusing on such issues as financial aid and college funding.

The 10:30 a.m. rally at the Capitol steps will be followed by speeches at 11 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., students will march into the House gallery. From 1:30 to 3 p.m., students will meet with legislators. Community college student leaders hope to have 250 participants at the event.

Shawn Carder, student body president of Portland Community College Sylvania Campus, the largest campus in the state, said, "Our past history and our hope for the future is to continue increased funding for Oregon Need Grant and Child Care Block grants and to keep education affordable for all students in the state of Oregon."

Carder said that many community college students have families and are struggling to pay for adequate child care for their children so they can go to school. Right now, 900 families are on the waiting list for the Child Care Block Grant. "There is no state money allocated to help student parents."

The rally will also focus on the increasing cost of tuition, which Carder said has gone up 90 percent at Oregon’s community colleges in the past decade. "The need grant for low-income students has not kept up with the rising prices. In fact, now the need grant covers only 11 percent of student’s education costs."

Community colleges are the largest higher education system in Oregon, serving close to 350,000 individuals each year and 82,000 full-time equivalent students. They are Oregon’s largest provider of lower-division courses for college freshman and sophomores, of technical training education, of literacy and adult basic skills education, and are also a major source of training for business development activities across the state through the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network.