Some UF students are taking a stand against budget cuts to higher education and subsequent layoffs by joining forces with faculty.
A rally designed to create a united front on the issue will be held in the Plaza of the Americas on April 7 and is organized by the student-run Coalition Save Our Schools and the United Faculty of Florida.
Save Our Schools is a coalition of student groups dedicated to raising awareness about budget cuts and encouraging students to take action.
"We're basically trying to start a dialogue between students and UF administration," said UF anthropology junior Kathryn Ranhorn, a founding member of the coalition.
The rally will feature speeches from faculty and will give students the chance to write letters to state legislators about the cuts.
The event follows the startup of a student group at Florida State University, which has a similar goal. The organization, known as Protect Our Professors, hopes to raise $100,000 to donate to FSU's provost in an effort to help professors and boost their morale, said Jill Chandler, the senior class president at FSU.
Leah Rosenberg, the membership chair of the United Faculty of Florida and an associate professor of English at UF, said faculty members and students have a different understanding of impacts the cuts will make, adding they must work together to counter the cuts.
