Civil Rights & Pan-Hellenic Advocates Fight for Pell Grants to Keep College Affordable
This HuffPo article by higher education advocate Rich Williams, “In The Public Interest: Pell Grant Cut Would Lead to Massive Financial Aid Disruptions,” describes the consequences of a proposed $5.7 billion cut to Pell Grant funding for the FY 2011 budget plan. Do you remember the anxiety of waiting for your college acceptance letters and then choosing a school based on reputation, prospective student visits, and of course, financial aid packages? I do. In the end, I had to choose between a prestigious school that would saddle me with $20,000 per year in loans or a smaller liberal arts school that offered a full tuition scholarship. With a single mom on a teacher’s salary, which do you think I chose? Well, 9.4 million students would face a much worse college dilemma if they receive letters limiting their need-based aid, days before the May 1st deadline for enrollment letters.
Earlier this week, national pan-Hellenic leaders representing millions of college students and alumni came together on a press call with civil rights leaders to highlight the devastating impact that proposed federal budget cuts would have on education, the economy, and the ability for future generations to achieve the American Dream. Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, moderated the call and spoke about the need to address the economic challenges America is facing while continuing to prioritize the most important social programs. “The future of our nation depends on the investments we make now, particularly in our young people,” he said. “We are all concerned about the deficit and about the fragility of our economic recovery, but policies that would attempt to balance the nation’s budget on the backs of those who are suffering most will not fix our nation’s economy.”
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League; Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund; Dwayne M. Murray Esq., grand polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi, one of the nation’s most prominent African American fraternities; and Cynthia Butler-McIntyre, president of Delta Sigma Theta, an African American sorority founded in 1913 to “promote academic excellence and to provide assistance to persons in need,” were also on the call.
“The recent budget cut proposal is nothing more than a cowardly, misguided attempt that will drastically cut the social safety net of Americans most in need,” Butler-McIntyre said. “We agree that the budget deficit needs to be addressed but leaving hundreds of thousands of families in the cold is no equitable way to fix our economy. Placing the highest burden on students, elderly, homeless vets, families, and our children is no way to show leadership.”
Presidents Murray and Butler-McIntyre lead the Council of Presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which is a collaborative organization of black fraternities and sororities active in creating a new generation of leaders and helping to educate elected officials on issues affecting education, healthcare, jobs and the economy, and the services and supports needed to build and maintain strong communities. The Kappas are celebrating their centennial anniversary this year and lobbied on the Hill this week.
“Congress is seeking to eliminate the social and educational programs that have been key to this nation’s growth and development,” Murray said. “Pell grants have been the cornerstone of African American higher education but under the proposed cuts, almost 20 percent of students will see these benefits disappear completely and most all will have their support reduced. The U.S. cannot effectively compete with the rest of the world when we don’t prioritize education and support for the future leaders of our country.”