Senator urges more support for community college students, highlights Clackamas College president’s 1,500‑mile run

An unnamed senator spoke on the Senate floor to press colleagues to strengthen supports for community college students, citing Tim Cook, president of Clackamas Community College, who is running to each of Oregon’s 17 community colleges to raise awareness of students’ unmet basic needs.

The senator said Cook plans to run about 32 miles a day and complete roughly a 1,500‑mile journey by Aug. 11 to call attention to hardships faced by students, including transportation, housing, food, books and access to technology. "When students' basic needs are met, they can focus on their education and create a brighter future," the senator said.

The senator recounted the story of William Morehead, identified in remarks as a Portland Community College student who had "virtually no family support" and reportedly lived in his car while attending welding classes. The senator said Morehead graduated with an associate degree in welding, a 3.9 GPA, and served as a student commencement speaker; Morehead was described as now studying AI ethics.

On the floor, the senator attributed broader causes for the hardships to recent federal budget decisions, saying there have been "deep cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid under the Republican ... recent budget bill," and warned Job Corps funding was under pressure. Those characterizations were presented by the senator as his assessment; no independent verification was provided in the remarks.

The senator asked colleagues to support educators and students and said Congress should "not leave students behind." Apart from an initial unanimous‑consent request granting certain staff floor privileges, no formal legislative action or votes are recorded in this transcript.

The senator yielded the floor after the remarks; no further action was recorded here.