Who would have guessed that a Spartan, a Wolverine, a Bronco and a Chippewa would be four of the several representatives sitting down to talk about overpriced college degrees. In one room, no less.

Last night was the first State of the Public Universities Address and all 15 Michigan colleges and universities were represented by the respective presidents.

Finally, we are able to look past academic and sport rivalries and look at the most pressing issue for higher education in Michigan - the lack of money.

Michigan already has faced a 10- percent budget cut in the past two years and another round of cuts to solve the $920 million deficit problem is expected.

Universities are some of the most likely to be placed on the chopping block.

It is important that all 15 colleges and universities in Michigan unite and discuss what can be done to overcome the decrease in state funding over the years.

Higher education has many impacts that shape our people, society and economy. It is not just investing in one student.

The Presidents Council, made up of advocates of higher education, contend that for every $1.5 billion invested in higher education, the economy is benefited by $39 billion. Statistics such as these should be easy fuel for the fight against budget cuts.

The fact that there are 15 colleges and universities in Michigan already gives a competitive advantage against other states whose universities have not collaborated on such a grand scale.

We hope our united force will spark interest from the government to help finance higher education instead of taking away from it.

Students should take part, too, along with the university officials. We should take down the wall that we have built up against other schools and realize we all are suffering the same losses.

We all are students trying to put up a fight. We are all working to create an educated future.