SALEM, Ore. - Five hundred college students from around the state rallied at the state Capitol Thursday, calling on lawmakers to give more money to higher education.

According to education advocates, it was the largest rally for higher education funding since 1999. And it drew some who had to battle through a blizzard in southern Oregon just to get there.

"I'm here because I'm buried by college debt," said Oregon State University student Brandon High. "I have over $15,000 in college loans, and I'm only two years in."

Gov. Ted Kulongoski wants to answer their cries for help. He's budgeted $4.9 billion for higher education, $500 million more than it currently receives.

"It's all about you!" he told those at the rally Thursday. "How important this investment is. Not just to you but to the future of this state. This is about Oregon!"

The state has had the fifth-largest tuition increase in the nation since 1991.

Take for example Chemeketa Community College, where a college credit cost $38 in 2000 and $64 today - a 68-percent price hike.

Critics of the governor's plan to spend more on higher education question where he'll get the money to pay for it considering he'll have to balance the request with a number of competing interests.