Dalton State Students to Protest Budget Cuts

One week from today-- thousands of people plan to rally on the steps of Georgia's state capitol. Most of them students-- angry about the possibility of another round of cuts.

Today's school bells are tomorrow's battle cry as students at Dalton State College prepare for their fight for funding.

"We have pushed for a March 15th rally at the Capitol," said Daniel Sanchez, the student body president and a pre-med major. He says he picked Dalton because of its campus and quality.

"The professor to student ratio its actually a lot better than larger schools where you have 200, 300 students per class," he said. "Where here the highest you have is 40 per professor."

But now what he loves most may be in jeopardy as schools across the state of Georgia were warned to prepare for a worst case scenario. State lawmakers have already slashed $265 million and may take another $300 million.

Nothing is set in stone yet but everything is on the table-- and that's unsettling to students.

Sanchez said, "I think what the students are concerned about is that their degrees don't lose any credibility and the overall quality of the education they get doesn't deteriorate."

But he and other students aren't giving up without a fight. They plan on letting legislators know just how they feel at that state-wide rally next week-- and showing them face to face for whom the bell tolls.

They say if certain classes and programs and professors are cut then certain students can't take the classes needed to graduate on time

Students plan to hold a townhall meeting on campus Thursday night then gather again next Monday morning and carpool to the Capitol in Atlanta for the rally.

Dalton State College saw a surge in students last year during the recession as out of work employees try to learn new skills to get hired.