One of the students expressed her feelings via a handmade poster. Photos by Jason Andrade.

Metro State’s Student Government Assembly hosted a Statewide Day of Education on Tuesday in an effort to educate and mobilize students around Colorado’s perennial higher education funding woes.

With local pop punk band Skyfox providing the entertainment, a number of students converged on the athletic fields adjacent to the Tivoli Student Union to become more informed and enjoy the Colorado sunshine.

Metro State President Stephen Jordan addressed the crowd to thank them for their participation in the dialogue about a state budget shortfall and its potential to strip hundreds of millions from Colorado’s higher education system.

“I really appreciate your support for your future and for our state’s future,” Jordan said.

As he talked about the $450 million in cuts that higher education had faced just two weeks ago, Jordan stressed the important role that Metro State students have played in helping to influence discussions in the statehouse.

President Stephen Jordan credited Metro State students for having a "huge" impact on the budget crisis.

“As a result of the work you’ve done already, you’ve had a huge impact on that [proposed cut],” Jordan said. “[The legislature] has now restored, in permanent funding, $300 million of that, and the governor has agreed to use federal stimulus money to fill in the other $150 million.”

Jordan also acknowledged that the proposed federal stimulus solution is only a two-year fix and reiterated the importance of student, faculty and citizen activism in pushing state legislators to make a long-term commitment to solving Colorado’s higher education funding shortage.