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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2009)
îlie ^ilortlanò © bserüer________________________ Page as April 29.2009 New Student Loan System Proposed President would save money by bypassing banks (AP) -- President Barack O bam a has renew ed his call for the governm ent to stop backing private loans to col lege stu d en ts and replace them with direct financial aid to young people. O b a m a sa id th e su re st test for success in the ch al lenging econom y is a co l lege degree or other train ing, y et ac cess to h ig h er e d u c a t i o n c o n t i n u e s to sh rink as costs rise. To re v e rse th a t, th e p re s id e n t repeated his cam paign pro posal that w ould elim inate the F ederal F am ily E duca tio n L o a n p ro g ra m th a t costs taxpayers $15 m illion a day. "In a paradox o f A m eri can life, at th e very m o m ent it's never been m ore im p o rtan t to have a quality h ig h er ed u cation, the cost o f th at kin d o f ed u catio n has nev er been higher. ... Y et, w e h a v e a s tu d e n t loan sy stem w here w e're giv in g lenders b illio n s o f d o llars in w asteful su b si dies that could be used to m ake college m ore affo rd a b le fo r all A m e ric a n s," O bam a said F riday at the W hite H ouse. T he a d m in istra tio n has pushed for federal financial aid to go d ire c tly to s tu dents, not to banks that lend m oney to students. O bam a President Barack Obama speaks about higher education in the Diplomatic Room at the said he w ants to elim inate White House. O bam a has claim ed that O bam a w ants to end the from banks, nonprofits or the "m iddle men" lenders the change w ould save at state agencies that in turn th a t he sa y s a d d i n e f f i d ec ad es-o ld , d ual system c ie n c y to th e s y s te m — th e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t r e c e iv e s u b s id ie s fro m least $48 billion o v er the n ex t 10 y ea rs — m o n ey "that's a prem ium we can uses to ad v a n ce lo an s to W ashington. T he president's proposal that could be funneled to not a ffo rd , no t w hen we students to pay for college. could be re in v e stin g that U nder that system , students w o u ld sw itch th e fed eral student aid. B ut R ep u b li sam e m o n e y in o u r s tu at som e c o lle g e s bo rro w s tu d e n t lo an s y ste m e n cans are con cern ed about dents, in our econom y and directly from the g o v ern tirely to direct lending from the costs o f that and even som e D em ocratic law m ak ment, while others get loans the governm ent. in our country." First step is filling out an application o f advantage over other stu dents. No - my point is that in the vast m ajority o f cir cum stances, you have to ask for something before you can get it. Unfortunately, I fear that too many college edu cations w ither on the vine b e c a u se w o u ld -b e s tu dents d o n ’t know how to ask for what they need. Even in these econom ic times, the cost o f higher education need not be a barrier to enrollment. This is especially true at com m u nity colleges, which are the best higher education bar gain to be found. The fact is th at th ere is an ab u n d a n t amount of financial aid avail able, despite the econom ic downturn. One doesn’t have to be a 4.0 student; often, one just needs to show ini tiative and promise. All that needs to be done in order to enjoy its benefits of financial aid is to ask for it. The first step is to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. As the nam e suggests, it’s free - and you can fill it out online at fafsa.ed.gov or at A lgie G atewood Back in the e a rly 1990s, w h e n I w as s tu d y in g to earn my doc toral degree, I found m yself facing a problem that con fronts virtually every college student at one tim e or an other: I needed more money. I w as alread y w orking in higher education administra tion at the time, so I wrote a letter to the foundation of the school where I worked and asked them if there was any m o re s c h o la rs h ip m oney available that I m ight use. M uch to my surprise and satisfaction, the foundation g a v e m e e x a c tly w h a t I asked for. M y point is not that I was a special case, or that my “in sider” position as an adm in istrator gave me some sort by your local community college cam pus’ financial aid office. The FAFSA is quite literally the gateway to financial aid; the information that students provide is used to evaluate their eligibility for aid from a w hole array o f sources - federal and state g o v e rn m ents, educational institu tions, and independent schol arship funds. Once a student submits a completed FAFSA, it could be a matter o f only a few days before he or she receives con firmation from the federal gov ernment. And then, depend ing on need and eligibility, a whole range o f aid becomes available, including: • O regon O p p ortu n ity research in this area can re first step tow ard receiving Grants: Another grant that ally pay off - in many cases, financial aid - but hardly the students d on’t need to repay. The maximum OOG amount available for the 2009-2010 academ ic year has yet to be determ ined; it was $2,600 in 2008-2009 for full-time stu dents. • F ed eral W ork Study: Work study dollars allow stu dents to work a part-time, on- cam pus jo b for pay, while helping to cover educational costs at the same time. The m axim um am ount available each year varies by educa tional institution. • F ed eral P erk in s and Stafford Loans: Low-inter est federal loans that stu dents must repay after leav The Pell Grant is one of the ing school. The m axim um best kinds of financial aid, be am ount available each year cause it doesn’t need to be varies by educational institu repaid. As much as $5,350 tion. In my personal opinion, per year can be available to however, I recom m end bor row ing as little m oney as full-time students. • S u p p lem en tal E d u ca possible, and only when nec tional Opportunity Grants: essary. Like a Pell Grant, a SEOG • Institutional or external d oesn’t need to be repaid. aid: These are scholarships The maximum amount avail a n d g ra n ts is s u e d by a able each year varies by edu stu d en t’s college or by an outside organization. A little cational institution. • F ed eral P ell G rants: Training for Tomorrow’s Leaders Ethnic Minorities get involved in civics Forty two individuals, rep r e s e n tin g 37 d iffe re n t ethnicities, recently gathered for a public advocacy sem i nar at Portland City Hall. Engage ’09 is a partner ship between the Immigrant and R efu g ee C o m m u n ity O rg an izatio n (IR C O ) and the City o f Portland which w ill tak e the p artic ip a n ts through six training sessions over a period o f 3 months. T he p ro jec t en co u rag es ethnic m inorities to get in volved in civic processes. The kick-off event included a keynote address by City C o m m is s io n e r A m an d a F ritz , p re s e n ta tio n s , and hands on exercises. Ranging in age from 17 to 78, the p a rtic ip a n ts w ere mostly people who had agreed to put aside their fears of civic engagement, stemming from ers oppose the sw itch. T he p resid en t ack n o w l edged that proposal's c rit ics. "In the end, th is is not about grow ing the size of governm ent or relying on th e free m ark e t, b ecau se it's not a free m arket when w e h a v e a s tu d e n t lo a n system that's rigged to re w ard private lenders w ith out any risk," O bam a said. " I t's a b o u t w h e th e r w e want to give tens of billions o f tax dollars to special in terests or w hether we w ant to m ake college m ore af fordable for eight and a half m illion m ore students." Obama also noted the plan would be tough to pass. "The banks and the lend ers who have reaped a w ind fall from th ese su b sid ies have m obilized an army of lobbyists to try to keep things the way they are. They are gearing up for battle. So am I," Obama said. a student can find scholar ships that are specifically tar geted toward his or her back ground or educational goals. The list doesn’t end there - aid from additional sources is available. A financial aid advisor is the best source of more information. Most students who apply for aid, through a com bina tion of some or all of these various resources, are able to sig n ifican tly offset the cost o f their education to the point that it becomes a m an ageable opportunity, and go ing to school becomes a re alistic proposition. For those s tu d e n ts w h o se c irc u m stances require them to work to su p p o rt th em selv es or th eir fam ilies w hile they study, finding the right com bination of financial aid re sources can suddenly turn higher education into som e thing that is achievable right now, rather than at some far- off, undeterm ined point in time. As I m en tio n ed ab o v e, submitting a FAFSA is the only one. 1 highly recommend visiting the financial aid of fice at your local college campus and talking to a fi nancial aid advisor. He or she can assist you with com plet ing the FAFSA, and help you to find and apply for sources o f aid for which you are eli gible. In addition, many in stitu tio n s - like P ortland Community College, for ex ample - hold periodic w ork shops and orientations on fil ing the FAFSA and applying for financial aid. The bottom line is that there is much more financial aid available than many people realize, and it’s easier to ob tain than one might think. There is enough, perhaps, to make higher education a pos sibility even in dire economic times such as these. But that same old rule still applies - if you want som e thing, sometimes you simply have to ask for it. A lg ie C. G atew ood, Ed.D., is president o f Port land Community C ollege’s Cascade Campus. Join Us!!! Full Harvest Fellowship Ministries As We Present Spiritual Enrichment Class Saturdays 7:00 PM Beginning Saturday, May 2nd PHOTO ( O l RTESY K a TIE ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY Françoise Gakuba, who came to Portland from Rwanda, snaps a photo for her personal memories during a public advocacy seminar at Portland City Hall. their experiences in countries of origin where they were, at best, shut out of the civic pro cess and, at worst, had suf fered significantly at the hands o f elected officials. People from places such as Somalia, Eritrea, India, Viet Nam, and Russia gathered to learn the American art of public advo cacy. For example, Mang Suan Pau was a m em ber o f the Burmese Zomi ethnic group and a longtim e prom oter of human rights who spent sev eral years o f torture and im p ris o n m e n t u n d e r the M yanm ar m ilitary junta be fore escaping to M alaysia. He worked in nonprofit so cial serv ic es in M alaysia while waiting for State De partm ent approval for re settlem ent in the U.S. The driving force behind Engage '09 is that with in creased levels o f civic e n gagem ent, local policy can be shaped to improve o u t com es for the immigrant and refugee communities. At the same time, the pro gram enriches the city by bringing in the social capital of those com m unities and en g ag in g th e ir m em b ers in volunteerism, community de velopment and social justice. 75 NE Wygant (Between Rodney & Cleveland) For More Info Contact Gregory or Martha Thomas At 971-533-2800 For Directions Visit our secure website Fullharvestfcllowship.vpwcb.com I must work the works of him that sent me. while it is day: the night cometh. when no man can work. John 9:4