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HCC STUDENTS VISIT STATE CAPITOL

BRIDGEPORT--Human Services students from Housatonic Community College visited the State Capitol Wednesday, April 23, to urge key elected officials to spare the Community College System from further budget cuts and to restore funds cut from its budget over the past few years.

The highlight of the visit for six students was a chat with Gov. John G. Rowland during a noontime news conference. For many of the students, it was the first visit to the State Capitol and the first audience with a governor.

Students Darina Mitchell of New Haven, Xiomara Natal of Bridgeport, Lissette Velez of Bridgeport, Elizabeth Liptak of Stratford, JoAnn Armstrong of Stratford, and Lissette Marquez of Bridgeport were photographed with Gov. Rowland. Other students who were on hand at the Capitol include Yahaira Perez of Bridgeport, Michelle Morales of Ansonia, Deborah Murphy of Bridgeport and Sandra Torres of Bridgeport.

The students sought audiences with legislators from their district, and chatted with others who stopped by the HCC exhibit in the walkway between the Legislative Office Building and the State Capitol. Among those were State Reps. Christopher Caruso (D-126th Dist.) and Richard Roy (D-119th Dist.). The students pressed the case for the college, offering first-person testimony about the work the college is doing and its impact on the lives of the people it serves. This allowed legislators to put a name and a face on the human impact of the college.

HCC has been opening educational doors to more people than ever before. Since it moved to its new downtown campus six years ago, enrollment has increased by more than 70 percent. According to the latest figures released by the American Association of Community Colleges, HCC is the fastest growing community college in the Northeast among colleges with more than 1,000 students. The Northeast includes New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. An economic impact study completed last year shows that HCC:

* Adds $60 million annually to the area's economy, the equivalent of 1,400 jobs;

* Enables students to see a 27 percent return on their Housatonic investment, recovering this in 4.9 years;

* Through the education provided, enables the state to save some $1.4 million annually though improved student/alumni health as well as reduced welfare, unemployment and crime. Added to this are the taxes on the increased income that an HCC education brings.

* Through the economic benefits of the education provided, enables taxpayers to see a 13 percent return on their investment in Housatonic and recover that investment in 8.6 years

All this ...while putting more money into the state treasury each year than it takes out.