By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Thursday's Higher Education Rally brought college students from across the state to Montgomery. They were there to encourage the Alabama Legislature to properly fund higher education. Governor Bob Riley, Lieutenant Governor Lucy Baxley and other political and education leaders addressed the crowd. Afterward, the students gathered on the Capitol lawn for a barbecue lunch. Gordon Stone, executive director of Alabama's Higher Education Partnership says, the annual rally helps remind lawmakers that Alabama's public colleges and universities don't receive as much state funding per student as institutions in other states.