Students Removed In Handcuffs From HOPE Rally

ATLANTA -- Police took two students away in handcuffs during a rally against HOPE Scholarship cuts at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot confirmed that one person was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. A trooper said the charge was interfering with govemental activity. Elliot reported seeing the students held on the ground by Capitol police, handcuffed and removed as more than a dozen students entered the building and tried to interrupt debate on the Senate floor. Students chanted "kill the bill" as police escorted them down the stairs and out of the building.

A larger group of college students gathered at Georgia State University and marched to the state Capitol just after noon, voicing their opinion against the cuts and carrying signs.

The lottery-funded scholarship is running out of money. The state senate could soon vote on Gov. Nathan Deal's proposal that would raise the grade point average and SAT score requirements for HOPE eligibility.

House Bill 326, which was approved by the state House last week, is the target of ire from students across the state. Democrats have also said the cuts unfairly impacts low-income and minority students. But the GOP-led House has largely ignored those conces, saying the program must be cut or it will go bankrupt by next year.

Students who don’t meet the requirements -- a 3.7 GPA and at least a 1,200 SAT score -- will have to pay for tuition along with mandatory fees, which run at about $400 per semester. The bill also would eliminate payments for books, fees and remedial classes.