Public college students, parents, faculty and recent graduates are calling for a reinvestment in public higher education in Massachusetts.
At a hearing before the Legislature's Joint Committee on Higher Education, they advocated for passage of the Cherish Act. Passage would result in more than 500-million-dollars in state funding, restoration of budget cuts made since 2001 and a freeze on tuition and fees for five years.
Meantime, State Senator Jamie Eldridge testifying on Beacon hill in support of his bill that would guarantee free public education as a right for state students.
The Senator’s Bill would create a grant program that would pay full tuition and fees for qualifying students who apply for state colleges and universities or vocational training schools.
The Senator says college debt is crippling and the state legislature needs to stop the bleeding.