"Since the beginning, there's been anger, frustration, sadness and fear, but we've been working toward a concentrated effort toward change, " said Eliza Diop, 20, a politics and Africana Studies major who serves on the college student senate and is a resident of the Afrikan Heritage House, which offers programs focused on the African diaspora, according to the college's website.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

One of the biggest cuts approved by the Senate today is in student loans.

NPR: How Cuts in Federal Aid Will Affect Students

Instead, it will likely be attached to a Senate bill called the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

FORBES: Income-Based Student Loan Repayment: What You Need to Know

The Senate passed a bill yesterday to safeguard student loans, and President Bush says he will sign it.

NPR: Bush Backs Legislation to Safeguard Student Loans

Both the House and the Senate have recently passed bills to reform student lending, and observers think a final bill may land on the president's desk in a month.

ECONOMIST: A radical sort-out for the beer-and-book money

The Senate leaders also said they are considering pairing the student loan bill with a long-stalled transportation funding measure known as the highway bill, which is still being negotiated between the House and Senate.

CNN: Senate deal on student loans awaits House GOP approval

So the good news is, the Senate will vote next week on a bill that would keep student loan rates from doubling.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks on College Affordability

The House of Representatives recently voted to cut the interest rate on subsidised student loans by half, to 3.4%, over five years. (The Senate and the White House have to support this for it to become law.) Even Republicans, usually supportive of private lenders, are now turning on them.

ECONOMIST: Student loans: Another subprime scandal | The

Balky Republican moderates in the Senate have already made enough noise to restore some of the funding taken from Medicaid, Medicare and student loan programs and reinstate minimum federal standards for nursing home care.

CNN: Senate passes GOP budget bill, 52-47