Gavin Keirans (UPUA President), George Khoury (Council of Commonwealth Student Governments President), and Luke Pierce (IFC President) all addressed a crowd of approximately 100 students and community members at today’s Rally for Relief.

The argument put forth by the student leaders was quite strong. It was, in short, that students at Pennsylvania’s state related universities are being marginalized by the Tuition Relief Act, and that this exclusion could have far reaching implications in future economic growth.

The Tuition Relief Act would use proceeds from video poker machines to ease the financial burden on the state’s college students, but the legislation as written will only benefit students at Pennsylvania’s state universities and community colleges– not Penn State, and not Pittsburgh, Lincoln, or Temple.

According to Penn State Live, there are 30,931 Penn State students who would qualify for this program if state-related universities were included.

It should be noted that this rally was not held to protest the state’s cuts in Penn State’s appropriations, which have been substantial over the past decade.

It’s unusual to see the administration and student leaders rallying around a single cause. Let’s hope it works. We’ll have some more about their efforts tomorrow.

For more coverage, check out The Daily Collegian and The Centre Daily Times.