Georgia Highlands College student Cory Lowe describes himself as a “second chance” student. He said he attended a bigger university but became distracted and failed himself.

Now he’s an honor student and credits GHC with his success.

Lowe shared his story Thursday during a student rally at the heart of the college’s Rome campus. More than 100 students attended the event, aimed at amping up anti-budget cut support.

Click here to read a story about chairmen of the House and Senate committees calling for salary cuts for the highest-paid college administrators.

The college is facing a proposed $2.4 million budget cut that would result in the closing of two campuses, the shuttering of the dental hygiene and physical education programs, a reduction in the number of nursing students allowed into the program, and the cutting of at least 30 jobs at the college. All Georgia state colleges are facing massive cuts and a March 15 protest rally is planned at the State Capitol.

On Thursday at Highlands, multiple speakers representing the college spoke about the importance of the endangered programs and encouraged students to contact their state representatives to make their voices heard. A similar rally was also conducted on the Cartersville campus Thursday.

Lowe held up a phonebook and said in the yellow pages there are more than nine pages of dentists and physicians who would gladly hire GHC graduates. He also touted the value of the college for nontraditional students, saying thousands of people depend on GHC and its programs every day.

“These budget cuts aren’t just about dollars and cents,” Lowe said. “It’s about people.”

One of those people is Ken Weatherman, physical education instructor. He has taught at GHC for 36 years, and his department is currently on the chopping block. He said that killing so many programs would do irreparable damage to Georgia’s educational system.

“Education is a long-term investment in the people, the citizenry of Georgia,” Weatherman told the crowd. “These cuts are absolutely unsustainable.”

Weatherman said its time for lawmakers to act like statesmen and not politicians. He encouraged students to get involved by calling or e-mailing their representatives and asked that they attend the March 15 rally.

He also pointed out that under current proposals more than 4,000 people in the University System of Georgia would lose their jobs, a point PE instructor Catherine King thumped home during her speech.

“If you’re so concerned about the state’s economy, what do you think laying off 4,000 people across the state is going to do?” she said, telling students that she has asked that question of every lawmaker she has spoken to.

King’s concern, she said, is just as much about the future as it is the present.

“If this happens this year, what happens next year?”

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