Shayan Elahi, civil rights attorney and Democratic candidate for Florida House, responded to Governor Rick Scott’s visit to the UCF Board of Governor’s meeting today by calling out the policies that continue to hurt students and higher education throughout Florida.
“The policies of Governor Scott and the Republican-dominated legislature dramatically increased the financial burden on students and families and many from middle income families are forced to take on substantial debt or they are being priced out of college altogether,” said Shayan Elahi.
“Now our Governor attempts to pass the buck and blame local university officials for being forced to find new funding sources in light of the cuts. This is unacceptable and I will fight to restore all education funding and work with universities to ensure Florida provides affordable higher education.”
Since the start of the recession, the state of Florida has cut higher education by $544 million, roughly a third. Since Elahi graduated from UCF in 1995, the cost of going to school has more than tripled and is set to rise another 15 percent next year. The average student debt for UCF was $18,966 in 2010, a staggering burden for young professionals just starting their career.
Shayan Elahi is the only Democratic candidate who lives in the newly-drawn state house district, which encompasses UCF, Valencia and Full Sail University. Elahi is also a UCF graduate and was a member of the UCF College Democrats when on campus.
