Student lobbying increases Pell Grant
The need-based grant
totaled $10.7 million
this year, helping about a
quarter of undergraduates
Aimee Rudin
City/State Politics Reporter
Access to higher education has
long been a benefit of the upper
class. It takes money to go to col
lege, and when lower-income fami
lies struggle just to make ends meet,
a college education often falls by the
wayside. The relationship between
affluence and education can, and
often does, leave people behind.
The Pell Grant, part of federal
financial aid, can help to ease the
cost burden of higher education for
needy students. It is the only gov
ernment grant based entirely on
need and is most commonly award
ed to lower-income students work
ing toward undergraduate degrees.
“It is the only grant source
available to needy students that
has no other requirements than
need,” University Financial Aid
Office Director Elizabeth Bickford
said. “All students need to do is
apply for it. If they’re needy, they
will always get the Pell Grant.”
At the University this year, Pell
Grant awards totaling $10.7 millior
were dispersed to 4,049 needy stu
dents — about one quarter of the
undergraduate student body —
according to the University’s Office
of Student Financial Aid.
“It’s the largest grant we have
based on need,” Bickford said, adding
that the Pell Grant is really the “meat
and potatoes” of need-based awards.
Individual awards for the 2002-03
academic year may have reached a
maximum of $4,000, with the aver
age award falling around $2,000.
Pell Grants tend to make up
approximately 20 percent of lower
income student funding for college.
The other 80 percent typically comes
from federal loans and other sources,
said Stefan Myers, a legislative asso
ciate with the ASUO. Myers said that
just 20 years ago, 80 percent of stu
dent funding came from grants and
only 20 percent came from loans.
“We need to get the grants back
to a level where they can cover
student expenses,” he added.
Myers and several members of
the University student body
recently joined other schools and
members of the U.S. Student
Association in Washington, D.G.,
where they lobbied for increases
to the Pell Grant award.
As a result of the efforts of the
group, the Senate raised the maxi
mum award for the Pell Grant to
$4,550, an increase of $550.
According to U.S.S.A. Legislative
Director Mary Cunningham, the
group made such an impact that the
Senate felt it had no choice but to
pass the increase. Cunningham
added that the increase will not be
final until after the appropriations
process is complete, and the
increase is approved by the U.S.
House of Representatives.
In the meantime, University stu
dents should plan on continuing to
contact their senators and voicing
their support for the Pell Grant,
Myers said. The ASUO is putting
together a list of students interested
in future lobbying for the grant and
Myers encourages students to drop
Maximum Pell Grant increase
MHMI Maximum Pell grant award t ..1 Resident undergraduate tuition
5000 f
4500 -
4000 _
3.500 -
3000 -
2500 -
2000 .
1500 -
1000 -
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2002-03
2003-04
by the ASUO office and sign up.
“The Pell Grant is one of the most
important grants out there,” Myers
said. “It really opens gateways to high
er education. We need to make sure
our legislators know how important
buuKLt: u.:>. ueparcmeru or taucauon
Pell Grants are to our education.”
For more information on how to
show support for the Pell Grant,
contact Stefan Myers at 346-0628.
Contact the senior reporter
at aimeerudin@dailyemerald.com.
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OF
Lent
continued from page 1
place during the spring, and Estere
demanded sacrifices from those
who followed her. The Easter sym
bols of rabbits and eggs are derived
from pagan fertility celebrations,
which have been traced back to an
cient Mesopotamia.
Junior Jin Sook, an international
student from Korea, said she thinks
Easter is both a secular and religious
holiday in the United States.
“In Korea, it is strictly a religious
observation,” she said. She said she’s
noticed in America that Easter bun
nies and springtime often symbolize
the Easter holiday, and its religious
connotation does not seem to hold
as much weight as it does in Korea.
Still, it’s a very symbolic time for
many religious denominations in
the United States. Lent, a 40-day
commitment of sacrifice and fasting,
ends on Easter. Holy Week con
cludes Lent, and according to the
Greek Orthodox Church, the week
is a day-by-day dedication to ob
serve the teachings of Christ during
his final week on earth.
During this week, Catholic
Campus Ministry Father Mike
Fones said Catholics also observe
the Triduum, which began Thurs
day. He said they chant ancient
prayers in Psalms every morning
for three days at the University’s
Newman Center.
“This is a consecration of time to
God,” Fones said. He said in the
Catholic tradition, an Easter Vigil
takes place outside on Saturday
night, as opposed to Sunday morn
ing, when mass takes place. At the
Catholic Campus Ministry, there
will be a bonfire, singing of the “ex
sultent,” an ancient hymn, and bap
tisms of students and non-students.
Fones said Lent is a time to real
ize the dependency humans have on
physical needs. He said its intent is
to make people discover what
changes should be made in an indi
vidual’s life through God.
“It’s important to slow down in life
and be more reflective, which is
hard for students,” Fones said.
For most Christians, Easter is
commonly observed on Sunday
morning, either by attending church
or getting together as a family. “I’m
the only one in my family who wants
to go to church on Easter morning,
so I usually have to convince them to
go with me a month and a half to two
months in advance,” sophomore
Melissa Collier said.
Kelsi Johns is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.