Lt. Gov. Beverly Eaves Perdue became the 73rd, and first female, governor of North Carolina.

We congratulate Perdue on her latest achievement, and now that the honeymoon phase of the election is over, it is time to get to work. With the fancy title of governor comes the hardships, especially in this economy

The University is affected by the economy and is suffering after a devastating 4 percent budget cut across the board, and another possible 3 percent budget cut later this semester.

Perdue said in her inauguration speech that she would remain true to her commitment to education and has said during her campaign that education would remain a priority.

A deficit of up to $3 billion in state debt has caused Perdue to call off her campaign promise of free community college for full-time students.

Breaking this campaign promise is a devastating blow to future college students and puts them on the back burner. Community college is often a transition between high school and college and, for some, is the only step between high school and a cut-throat job market.

Though the circumstances that led up to this decision are not favorable, this is bad news to future college students who wanted depended on this campaign promise to get an education.

We hope the Perdue keeps her promise to expand the EARN scholarship program to offer a two-year scholarship and a four-year scholarship for university students from families earning less than $42,400 a year.

Free community college could have taken a load off of the the public universities around the state, all of which have the biggest number of students they have ever had.

Our plea to Perdue is that she remains an advocate for education, especially higher learning. Public universities in North Carolina are suffering from budget and staff cuts, and we need a leader who will fight for us.

We wish Perdue the best of luck during the next four years as leader of the Old North State.