SAN FRANCISCO, July 9 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,500 people rallied Tuesday in Anchorage, Alaska to protest Governor Mike Dunleavy's proposed state budget cut that would affect university students, local media reported.
The protesters, including students from University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), crowded the parking lot of the Alaska Airlines Center, a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the UAA campus, and made one last attempt two days before a looming deadline to urge state lawmakers to override Dunleavy's budget vetoes, local Anchorage Daily News (ADN) said.
The legislature has until Friday to override the vetoes, over which lawmakers are sharply divided.
Dunleavy vetoed in late June 182 items of the state's operating budget, proposing a cut of 444 million U.S. dollars, including 130 million dollars in funding for the University of Alaska System, a system consisting of three separately-accredited universities including the UAA, to make a more balanced budget without raising taxes.
The controversial move has drawn strong criticism from many Alaskans including those who depend on services funded by the payment.
The demonstrators staged what was likely to be the largest protest since Dunleavy's vetoes to press more lawmakers to come out opposing the governor's decision and reverse the cuts. Opponents said the vetoes mainly targeted education, healthcare and social services.
The state legislature needs three quarters of its 60 members, or 45 votes, to override Dunleavy's vetoes.
The ADN said the rally was organized by the UAA student government in partnership with a coalition of groups, drawing famous figures including University of Alaska President Jim Jonsen.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an agency that accredits universities in Alaska, warned earlier that Dunleavy's budget cuts by 135 million dollars, including a 5-million-dollar cut previously approved by the state legislature, compared with last year in state funding for the University of Alaska, risk the loss of accreditation that "could be felt for generations."
It is a 41-percent reduction in state funding from last year, and a 17-percent cut to the overall budget of the public university system.
