Punctuated by students cheers at hearing, Raimondo makes case for free tuition

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a rare appearance before the House Finance Committee, Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday brought her case for free college tuition directly to lawmakers. She made it forcefully — and was greeted with cheers and applause from dozens of high school students and others who filled the State House hearing room and overflowed into the corridors.

"This is a game-changer for Rhode Island," the governor told committee members. "It has the power to change lives."

Jaislene Vinas, a senior and class president at Central High School, matched the governor for emotion when she testified in support of the governor's proposal — the Promise Scholarship plan — asserting that "many of my closest peers have turned down the option of college, not because they lack ambition but because they refuse to accept what I call a debt sentence."

She referred to the crushing student-loan debt many leave college with — in some cases, before they have even earned their degrees.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170315/punctuated-by-students-cheers-at-hearing-raimondo-makes-case-for-free-tuition