As tuition continues to grow and students struggle to pay for basic necessities in Iowa and across the country, students came together for a “National Day of Action” to support different policy goals.

Some of these policies included free public college and the elimination of current student loan debt and was supported by more than 75 students from Des Moines Area Community College, Grinnell College and Iowa State who protested on Monday by blocking traffic and demonstrating in front of the future Student Innovation Center.

This event was organized by Young Democratic Socialists of America and Student Action. At least 14 similar events were hosted on campuses across the country.

One former Iowa State student, Javier Miranda, is a spokesperson for the movement. He believes higher education is a right that certain classes of people are currently being denied.

“We want to make sure everyone feels included, everybody in, nobody out,” Miranda said.

While these sentiments can be comforting to some, the specifics of a plan like this still need to be decided. People within the protesting group have different ideas about how a proposed plan should be paid for. A massive $1.4 trillion in student loan debt could be payed for using “progressive tax measures such as estate taxes or financial transaction fees,” according to a press release on the event.

However, larger measures might be necessary. Estate taxes in the past accounted for less than 1 percent of federal revenue. In 2014, around $19 billion was raised through this means, according to Tax Foundation. A plan proposed by Bernie Sanders for free college would cost $807 billion over the next decade, according to the Tax Policy Center.

When discussing spending, Miranda said the wrong issues are being focused on. He believes that public goods like education and healthcare should get a larger share of the tax revenue.

“This is something that frustrates me personally,” Miranda said. “We spend so much on wars that wreck other people’s lives, but we don’t ask how we are going to pay for that.”

While some people on campus believe in eliminating the cost of education, the College Republicans disagree. They believe that college is not a right, but a personal choice. They also don’t always trust the way the university handles finances.

“Spending is out of control at Public Universities,” according to a College Republicans’ Press Release. “The budget for just the University of Iowa alone is roughly equal to that of the entire State of Iowa.”

Despite this, Miranda said college education is a right that needs to be protected. He reflects on a time in his own life when he was not able to participate in certain activities because of a financial lack in his family.

“It made me feel angry at first, and then it made me ashamed,” Miranda said. “It was very isolating.”