This is a call to action to Iowa State alumni, businesses that have benefited from Iowa State, community members who appreciate the education the university offers and anyone who wants to see the next generation succeed: we need your funding.

The state has decided to reduce Iowa State’s funding for the current fiscal year by $8 million. Decreasing the investment in higher education is not a good sign. In fact, it’s a very dangerous sign. We’ll ask again a question we posed in an earlier editorial: If we can’t provide an accessible way for citizens to gain the tools they need to give back and better society, then how could we ever expect our societal issues to be solved?

Now, more than ever, securing private funding is not only essential to Iowa State, but the entire public higher education system. Thus, why Iowa State has embarked on its largest fundraising campaign to date.

“Forever True, For Iowa State, an eight-year campaign to raise $1.1 billion for the university, will keep Iowa State’s mission relevant and vibrant for a future that will urgently need us — but only if we work hand-in-hand, as we have always done, to make that goal possible,” according to the Iowa State Foundation.

But beyond the campaign-speak, why should you invest in higher education, you ask?

To steal an answer from Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Simply put, the next generation of doctors, lawyers, bankers, journalists, politicians, engineers, business owners, educators, farmers and scientists need high-quality education to solve the current and future problems our world is facing. They need platforms to learn through theory, practicum and diverse life experiences. They need people to teach them through classes, advising and employment. They need services to aid them through academics, personal life and professional development. They need a physical place to be educated through classrooms, buildings and labs.

There is no better place for that than a public university.

Your funding can aid specific programs, scholarships, new buildings or whatever portion of academia and the Cyclone experience you are most passionate about.

So the next time you have extra money to make an investment, choose us. And from the bottom of our hearts, we would thank you, not just for our own sakes, but for the future of Iowa State University, our state, our nation and our world. Because after all, the fundamental goal of public higher education is to provide affordable education.