Steve Rivera, a fourth-year biology student and Pell Grant
recipient, works two jobs, one in the morning and one in the
evening, to fund his education. “I just break even,” he
said.
Rivera works between classes because his federal grants,
including the Pell Grant, don’t provide substantial support
for his education. The shortfall is getting worse. Federal funding
for the Pell Grant doesn’t match the rising fees at UCLA and
other universities. Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing
to raise undergraduate fees at the University of California by 10
percent next year, the maximum Pell Grant has been frozen at $4,050
for over two years. As a result, many low-income students are
forced to take out loans. Others cannot afford college at all
““ and are denied a university education.
Students depend on Pell Grants for aid more than any other
federal grant program. At UCLA 9,000 students receive Pell Grants
and within the entire UC system 50,000 students receive the aid.
But as UCLA grows less affordable, federal grants have less impact
and student education is put at risk.
After repeated attempts the UCLA Financial Aid Office could not
be reached for comment on the situation.
Previously the UC has estimated its financial aid package would
cover the existing fee increases for 40 percent of undergraduate
students.
A more useful Pell Grant award should amount to $6,000 a year,
Financial Aid Director Ronald Johnson said in a Daily Bruin news
article (“Pell Grant proposal falls short of need,”
Feb. 12).
But the average award stands at an unimpressive $2,400 a year,
which is only about 9 percent of the estimated total costs for an
on-campus resident in the 2004-2005 school year.
“Really, what I get from Pell Grants doesn’t amount
to much at all,” said Charles Ellis, a first-year English
student.
With unsatisfactory federal grants, more students are turning to
loans. According to the United States Student Association, 54
percent of all college students now graduate in debt because of
their loans, and the average student debt has doubled over the past
eight years to $17,000.
The final effect is clear. As fees rise, students increasingly
confront the financial risks of debt.
“I’m pretty terrified because I don’t know
what I’m doing after college. … I don’t know when
I’ll get a job and pay back my loans,” said Jennifer
Drinh, a first-year undeclared student and recipient of three
loans.
Many college graduates who receive student loans now balance
unmanageable debts, said USSA Vice President Ajita Talwalker.
Legislators aren’t helping either. Congress is now
considering a proposal that eliminates fixed rates for student
loans and replaces them with variable rates. A switch to variable
rates, where interest rates could vary with time, could raise
student debt by a whopping $8,000 over a 20-year period.
It is imperative that students should not be coerced into
racking up big debts. There is no reason for lower-income students
to be denied a college education.
We must not forget that education serves an economic purpose.
With larger chunks of federal money allocated for education,
capable graduates enter and improve the work force.
“You can’t have any sector of jobs unless you have
trained people who can handle those jobs,” Talwalker
said.
As of 2002, the UC enrolls a higher percentage of low-income
students than any other prominent university, while UCLA has the
greatest number of low-income students of all UC campuses. This
shouldn’t change.
President Bush has promised to increase the maximum Pell Grant
award to $5,100. but it would only go to students studying math or
science. This plan only assists 20,000 college students, a mere 1
percent of the total number of Pell Grant recipients.
President Bush and other legislators chose to neglect Pell Grant
funding because low-income students hold little political clout.
The end result is that the Bush administration and the various
committees responsible for the annual budget emphasize issues such
as Social Security and downplay others like financial aid for
college students.
In the last 30 years voter turnout among people 18-25 fell from
50 percent to 32 percent. Meanwhile, low-income students have
historically voted Democratic. To a Republican, this population is
politically liable. “Politicians are interested in people who
vote. That’s why they like old people and are less interested
in young people,” said political science Professor Joel
Aberbach.
Pell Grants serve a positive and important purpose for college
students. These students cannot be threatened by lackluster budgets
or distracting political campaigns. Instead, the future of
financial aid lies in the hands of the college students
themselves.
Talwalker calls students an “untapped” political
resource that can use their numbers, despite their limited
financial resources, to influence political and social change.
“The future of education is intimately tied to our ability
to mobilize around elections and mobilize as a community on a
federal level,” she said.
It is high time we started.
Fried is a first-year history student. E-mail her at
ifried@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.