Students across the country will be taking action against budget cuts, tuition hikes, and the privatization of education as part of the March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education.

Today at 7 p.m., in Gardner Hall 105, there will be a film screening and discussion about the issues. On Thursday at 4 p.m. there will be a "Funk the Cuts" demonstration in the Pit. Students, workers, faculty members, and community members will gather for a dance-infused march featuring local drum corps groups. From there they will march to South Building, the administration building, to speak out.

"After the sit-in begins, we're planning to stay in South Building for 47 minutes: 1,000 seconds, or about 17 minutes, to represent the 1,000 class sections that have been cut from fall 2008 to fall 2009 alone, 15 minutes to stand in solidarity with undocumented students denied equal access to higher education in North Carolina, and 15 minutes to represent the more than 145 workers laid off at UNC because of the budget cuts," said senior Ben Carroll, of UNC Students for a Democratic Society.