“The True Cost of Higher Education”
Ohio State Marion invites the community to attend the 43rd Annual Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture, Thursday, April 16th, 12 p.m., in Maynard Hall, Guthery Community Room on the Marion campus. This year’s lecture features Ohio Student Association Organizer, Rachael Collyer, speaking on, “The True Cost of Higher Education.”
Collyer will speak about the urgent crisis of student debt, the assault on public universities in Ohio and around the country, as well as national initiatives connected with making higher education accessible and affordable. This is a timely issue that impacts life across the country and across generations. It has a direct and significant impact on the economy, international relations, and domestic policies. Providing an analysis from the student perspective, Collyer will present the concerns and aspirations of current students as well as discuss actions being taken to save higher education in the United States.
Collyer is an organizer with the Ohio Student Association (OSA), a nonpartisan organization of young people fighting systems of oppression through grassroots organizing, direct action, and leadership development. OSA is currently active at 6 universities and in two cities. In 2014, the group engaged 25,000 young voters in face-to-face conversations. Collyer is a graduating senior at The Ohio State University, where she studies English and Spanish. Through her work with OSA, she has had experience organizing for educational, economic, and racial justice, and engaging Ohio State students through voter registration, and voter education. Collyer is currently the Columbus lead for OSA's statewide campaign to confront the rising costs of higher education.
Since 1972, The Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture has been delivered annually at the Marion Campus of The Ohio State University. Lecturers are chosen from a wide variety of fields; historians, labor leaders, educators, editors, and authors have spoken during the series. All lecturers invited to speak have demonstrated concerns similar to those for which Norman Thomas lived—peace, social justice, rational discourse, and the expansion of democracy.
The Norman Thomas Memorial Lecture is free and open to the public. The 42nd Annual Norman Thomas Lecture is organized by the History Department at Ohio State Marion, and sponsored by the Harding/Thomas Endowment Fund, and Fahey Bank.