Columbus, OH (WOWO): Current and former students organized actions Thursday on college campuses across the nation to launch a campaign for free higher education, cancellation of student debt and a $15 minimum wage for campus workers.  Spencer McAvoy, one of the organizers, says continued state budget cuts and rising tuition costs have created an education crisis.

“This is a march for student rights and for affordable higher education, also against austerity which has been behind the draconian cuts across the country that we've seen to public education systems.”

McAvoy says, on average, this year's class of college graduates will have to pay back more than $35,000 in student loans.