Friday, 4/18/97 Groups rally in Meyerhoff for more aid to
students CALPIRG, USAC lend support for Internet-based petition
By Frances Lee Daily Bruin Contributor About 60 percent of
students at UCLA receive some form of financial aid. However, when
the California Student Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) and
the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) tried to
rally support for a campaign to increase student aid on Thursday,
few stopped to listen. Holding a sign proclaiming "Save Financial
Aid," speakers from CALPIRG, USAC and the UCLA Financial Aid Office
addressed the lunchtime crowd at Meyerhoff Park to launch the
Internet campaign. The nationwide campaign, sponsored by USPIRG,
the United States Students Association and Rock the Vote, demands
that Congress act to eliminate financial barriers to a college
education by increasing grants and aid to students. Several
senators, including Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Tom Daschle (D-S.D.)
and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), voiced support for the campaign and were
among the first to sign the petition. "We hope to get the word out
that financial aid is under attack," said Robin Pendoley, chair of
CALPIRG. "Students need to know they should voice their opinions"
for the accessibility and affordability of education. One of the
concerns raised by the campaign organizers is the amount of money
the government budgets for the Defense Department, especially since
the Cold War is over. They feel that education should now take
priority. "For the price of one B-2 bomber, the government can
raise our Pell Grants to $3,000" per recipient, said Stacy Lee, the
campus organizing director for the USAC external vice-president’s
office. The aim, she said, was to get Congress to "re-cut the
(budget) pie so there’s enough money for students." According to
Chris Hellman, a senior research analyst at the Center for Defense
Information in Washington, D.C., out of the government’s $550
billion 1998 budget, just over half – $265 billion to be exact –
has been allocated to the Defense Department. Only $31 billion has
been set aside for educational funding. In addition to the official
launching of the campaign, USAC and CALPIRG will also be
distributing flyers throughout campus and encouraging students to
sign the on-line petition. "I depend completely on financial aid.
If I were to lose it, I wouldn’t be going to school anymore," said
John Mckinzie, a third-year computer science student. When asked
whether he would sign the petition, Mckinzie said, "I’d support
anything for money. I’m a financial aid whore." As part of the
campaign, students were asked to sign an Internet petition to
Congress, which asks that the government "substantially increase
Pell and other need-based grants, reduce the cost of student loans
and provide significant tax relief to low- and middle-income
students." USAC External Vice President Alberto Retana said that
grassroots organizing is the key to increasing student power. The
only way for students to achieve victory, he added, was by
participating in numbers. "We didn’t have a huge crowd," Pendoley
said, but through CALPIRG and USAC’s publicity efforts, "hopefully,
(students) will understand this is an easy way" to voice their
concerns. The on-line petition can be accessed at
www.pirg.org/student/aid/petition. California Student Aid
Commission