Candace Chambers
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
Need money for college? Go borrow it from your parents.
This is one of the suggestions to decrease the amount of student loans that presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney delivered to an Ohio State University crowd recently. After watching a clip of his speech on youtube.com, I began to think about how important it is for Jackson State University students to vote in the Presidential Election on Nov. 6, 2012.
When school began on Aug. 20th and for many days after, I noticed a full waiting area in the financial services office. People were often sitting on the blue bench outside the door and more arriving in an attempt to come in. Then, a few days later, I noticed a flyer posted in the legacy dining hall stating that late fees would be waived.
Lately, I’m beginning to hear people talk about how their refund checks need to hurry up and make it to their bank accounts or how some classmates may be purged because of overwhelming negative balances.
If these individuals had money to borrow from their parents, then my observations would not have been made. Many parents are providing for their families, pay check to pay check. Some may have sufficient saved monies, but not enough to pay for their child’s college education. If students had the means to borrow money from their parents, then they would not have to borrow money from loan companies.
Financial aid is a major issue for those attending institutions of higher learning. Gov. Romney has endorsed the plan of his running mate, Paul Ryan, to decrease the amount of Pell Grant funds because of the negative effect they have on the national deficit. His plan is to “refocus federal Pell Grant dollars on the students that need them the most to avoid future finding cliffs and last minute funding patches,” as stated in “A Chance for Every Child,” Mitt Romney’s Plan for Restoring the promise American Education.
Contrary to Gov. Romney, President Obama plans to help students with loans and has implemented a program starting in 2014, which allows new borrowers to only pay 10 percent of their disposable income. According to whitehouse.gov, President Obama has maximized the Pell Grant award to $5,550 since 2008, with 9.5 million students receiving Pell Grants in the 2012-2013 school year. His website, barackobama.com states that he has increased funding (Pell Grants) by 75% helping 104,671 students in Mississippi.
In my opinion, Barack Obama has a vision for average students trying to gain more knowledge through higher education. Mitt Romney needs to find a better solution for the funding of higher education so that it can be obtainable for all students.
We, students at JSU, must consider our future in higher learning. We must vote not only because of the issues of education, but also because access to health care and security within our nation affects all American citizens.
I am not the only student that feels this way. Benjamin Williams, a senior speech communications major from Hazlehurst, Miss. said, “It is necessary that we do not stop midstream with the progresses that have been made by our President thus far.”
Martez Bryant, a senior math education major from Monticello, Miss., feels that financial aid is definitely a concern in the election.
“I feel like we as college students should be happy we are getting financial services. That’s why I’m going out to vote, so a kid in the future will have the same opportunities that I did.”
If you will be 18 or older before Oct. 5, 2012, get registered to vote! The Margaret Walker Alexander Center for the Study of the African-American Experience in Ayer Hall, located on Jackson State’s campus is hosting the For My People Voter Registration Drive until Oct. 6, 2012. Anyone in the community can register to vote in the upcoming election from 10:00-3:00 p.m., Monday- Friday.
Be sure to vote on Nov. 6, 2012. As civil rights leader, Malcolm X, said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” Your future is in your hands.
The views expressed in the commentary are those of the writer(s) and in no way represent the views of The Blue & White Flash.
