The student body presidents of all seven public universities and several community colleges said students could be forced into more debt. The rally was one of at least three that took place at the Capitol throughout Thursday, and was organized by the student-run nonprofit Oregon Student Association. It opposes a proposal to cut the public university and community college budget for 2023-2025 by 2.5% compared with the current two-year budget. There are more than 97,000 students in Oregon’s 17 community colleges and the state’s seven public universities. Legislators are considering a budget of $933 million for the state’s public universities and $764 million for the community colleges. The funding they need to continue operating at current levels is closer to $972 million and $779 million respectively.
