Southern Illinois University Carbondale student Ben Handler joined hundreds of others in Springfield today to urge lawmakers to fund colleges and universities.
State funding for higher education has been caught in the state's budget impasse, now in its 10th month. Handler says many of his friends are leaving SIU because they can't afford it or they think they'll get a better education somewhere else.
"They're seeing classes get cut, they're seeing programs get cut. A lot of professors are leaving because they're unsure about the future of SIU."
Other public universities say they are cutting programs and staff too. And while the universities have so far covered the cost of tuition grants for low-income students... They say they can't do it any longer... leaving some students wondering if they can afford to continue their education.