BOSTON/Boston Common - Ten students, staff, faculty, and alumni from the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts concluded a 114-mile march across the state to defend public higher education with a Thursday rally on Boston Common attended by over 150 supporters. The marchers stopped at seven campuses to raise awareness and gather thousands of signatures on a statement in support of their "Great State of Mind Campaign" - which they delivered to legislators at the conclusion of the event.
The campaign statement calls for state government to increase state support for higher education to the national average and decrease costs to students to the national average. According to PHENOM organizers, "the Bay State is currently 46th of 50 states in per capita support, has cut funding more than any other state in the past five years, and has some of the highest student charges in the country."