Students, Faculty Rally Against PASSHE Merger Plans
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
CALIFORNIA, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is moving ahead with its plans to merge six of its universities into two.
On Sunday, near the campus of California University, one of the schools affected, a small group of students and faculty rallied against the plan.
Instead, they are calling for Pennsylvania lawmakers to invest more money into the state system.
"The money is there to fully fund the system, the political will is not there" said Curry Mallott, an Associate Professor at West Chester University.
"What better investment is there than our children?" asked Monica Zheng, a student at West Chester University.
The plan calls for the mergers of California University, Clarion University, and Edinboro University in Western Pennsylvania -- and the merger of Bloomsburg University, Lock Haven University, and Mansfield University in Northeastern Pennsylvania.