General Assistance and other aid help keep those who need it from falling through the cracks of poverty, crime, drugs and prison. It keeps them hoping that, tomorrow, they will be better educated, have a better job and have a better life.

Marpheen Chann, a student at University of Maine School of Law, spoke to the crowd about his family’s experience escaping the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and settling in Maine.

Marpheen Chann-Berry, a student at the UMaine School of Law, said Cummings was a promising choice, given his background as a former state legislator and an official at the U.S. Department of Education.

“This is a victory for students, for faculty, for Portland, for all of us,” student organizer Marpheen Chann-Berry said. “But there is another victory still to be had – fixing state funding for public universities.”