President Bill Clinton is scheduled to speak next week to SIUC students and faculty wearing black in protest of the Death of Education, student government officials say.

The Undergraduate Student Government and the Unites States Student Association are sponsoring a Death of Education rally with Clinton as the guest speaker.

The Sept. 11 rally is tentatively scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Clinton is to give his speech on student aid and the Direct Student Loan Program in the middle of the rally.

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USG governmental affairs commissioner Dan Piper said he encourages all SIUC students, faculty and staff to wear black to the rally to signify the death of education.

Piper said the proposed congressional cutbacks in education could be the worst ever in financial aid, and if the cuts are enacted, millions of students from low and middle income families will not be able to afford college.

The State Student Incentive Grant and the Perkin’s Loan are targeted for elimination, Piper said. If these programs are removed, 280,000 students who were previously eligible for aid will be eligible no longer.

We’re giving Clinton a message to take back to Congress, Piper said. The message is that education is an investment, and Congress should cut corporate funds before financial aid and education.

USG President Duane Sherman said SIUC students need to come out to the rally and show support for financial aid.

At this event, SIUC students will be representative of students across the country, Sherman said. We need to send a message to our Congress that we will not stand for any reduction of financial aid.

Kevin Boyer, executive director for the National Association of Graduate/Professional Students, said one reason Clinton chose SIUC is because the University is in close proximity to other colleges.

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Clinton could have picked any number of schools, but strong support from all student groups made Carbondale more attractive to the White House, Boyer said.

According to Piper and Sherman, USSA provided the White House with a list of eight campuses but chose SIUC in the end.

Last Tuesday I got a phone call from USSA, Sherman said. They asked if SIUC could have a successful rally. I said most definitely.

The exact location of the speech has not been released because of security reasons, Piper said, but students will be able to follow signs directing them to the rally.