http://www.statenews.com It’s far from breaking news to say the economy is drastically affecting the way everyone operates, and the government isn’t an exception. When economic conditions go south and taxes aren’t raised, the government has no choice but to cut back spending. That means no program or department is safe from having its budget reduced or eliminated all together. en-us Gryphon 2.2.3b-tsn (woodward)/Foundry5 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:35:55 -0400 webmaster@statenews.com http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41178 you are wrong, wrong, wrong!!! this investment will be paid back by educated people paying more taxes over their work life. there are lots of students that receive this money that would not attend MSU but for those dollars. but you think that it only goes to the rich like yourselves and you don’t need it. talk about elitist. the SN should be a champion of students, all students, and not be apologists for the legislature kicking deserving MI kids to the curb. Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:28:45 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41178 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41182 This is so completely wrong; I can’t even begin to explain. As someone who finds it only possible to go to MSU because “merit-based” scholarships, I think that the State News is completely backwards here. Yes, let’s take money away from those who have worked to receive it, and let’s give it away in “need-based” scholarships. This is bull, complete and utter bull. Merit-based scholarships are often, despite what the State News might think, used by those who actually can’t afford to go to school without it. While it’s nice to think that apparently “merit-based” scholarships are being given out to a load of rich kids, this isn’t true. A lot of the time, because of various reasons, some kids who get “merit-based” scholarships don’t qualify for need-based scholarships; however, this does not make them rich. FAFSA is a screwed up system to determine “need,” as anyone who has tried to get money from it and not succeeded will know. My father’s 70k salary seems like it should be able to send me to college, but FAFSA hardly considers the fact that this same salary has to pay for both of my siblings to attend college, while supporting the mortgage for our house, etc. I cannot pay for college for myself, and neither can my parents pay for me; this makes it seem like I therefore need money to attend school. But I can’t receive any “need-based” scholarships, because I don’t “need” it enough. So, given the academic record I worked my butt off for during high school, I managed to secure a “merit-based” scholarship to MSU. Now, the state of Michigan apparently wants to start taking merit-based scholarships away, and the State News is ok with that. What is the world coming to? Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:51:45 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41182 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41183 As the founder and co-administrator of a merit-based scholarship for graduating high school students, I couldn’t disagree more with this callous and careless opinion. As a 21-year-old senior at MSU, my disdain for the ignorance of this piece takes on an even greater potency. The need for sacrificial giving in order to sustain the quality and accessibility of education in this state has never been greater. The highest achievers in Michigan must continue to be supported as they are the most promising source of potential for Michigan’s future. As more of these people choose to leave this rapidly declining state, the rate of decline increases along a power curve. The only way to stem this flood is to support the young adults that have new ideas and the drive to make them into realities; not in Chicago, New York or Seattle, but here in Michigan. Despite an almost complete lack of donations this year, our fund’s directors (all under the age of 22) are contributing the balance of this year’s award out-of-pocket. Yes, we too are trying to pay for the cost of a college education. Yes, we continue to be willing to sacrifice concerts, road trips and other true luxuries in order to continue our support of those who have shown the greatest willingness to work hard and achieve more. Why is it that this editorial board and the state feels differently? They both believe in rolling that money into a system that has demonstrated again and again its incapacity to serve the true needs of Michigan. The State News board and the state government would rather continue a futile attempt to support prisons overflowing with casual drug users, tax breaks for irresponsible corporations that have squandered away the state’s capital and natural resources, comparatively high government wages for retiring baby boomers (the average hourly Michigan wage for a jailer is $21.26, the national average is $19.88) and the continuation of automobile transportation. Michigan is in deep trouble, and cutting the Promise scholarship is one of the best ways to ensure a more rapid rate of decline. On the other hand, increasing the grant at the expense of some of Michigan’s most dysfunctional programs could “keep the momentum,” as MSU’s president likes to say, while simultaneously showing support for Michigan’s young adults. It is up to us to inherit this battered system, or let it completely disintegrate. Any fix will certainly require time, sacrifices, optimism and clear thinking. To that end, I’ll continue to rail against legislators, public officials, professors and editorial boards that lack the willingness to commit to this cause. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:54:32 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41183 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41184 Since the State News obviously thinks this cut only affects the smartest students, it’s good to know the state is willing to alieniate its brightest students even further. What young person wants to stay in a state that clearly does not value them? In a state that can’t keep it’s college grads in the first place, this seems like a sure-fire way to send even more young people out of state. “Ultimately, it won’t change much for students receiving the Michigan Promise” Really? That’s an impressive generalization of a vast group of people – 11,000 at MSU alone. The fact of the matter is that simply because someone only qualifies for merit-based scholarships doesn’t mean they’re rich. As stated above, FAFSA isn’t all that realistic about other costs a parent incurs beside a college education. With the economy as bad as it is, and the financial sector in crisis, loans aren’t exactly there for the taking. The basic fact is that losing this scholarship will force students into community colleges or out of school all together. All told, a terrible editorial by the State News. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:56:22 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41184 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41187 You guys are fucking stupid. Seriously. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:37:54 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41187 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41194 The State News is better than this. Or at least I thought so. This paper is for the students, and partially funded by the students. Education is one thing we cannot sacrifice in today’s economy. I know cuts are being made. I know they must be made, but that doesn’t mean that it is right. There will be people that will not be able to attend State. You are telling me that their opportunity to go to college is a luxury? Shame on you, State News. Education is not and will never be a luxury. This scholarship is access to education for many people. I am not even a Michigan resident, so I am not and will never receive this money. But on behalf of my fellow Spartans and Collegiate students across the State of Michigan, I cannot excuse the State News for its lack of understanding. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:36:07 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41194 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41200 lets take all the scholarships away from those who can “afford” it, and give it all to the people who cant. utter bullshit. Lets punish those who have worked hard over their life to be able to afford to send their children to college, without forcing them to take out loans. If you start making these people pay for everything, because they can “afford’ it, they themselves will be poor pretty soon. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:38:32 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41200 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41213 People attend college in order to secure jobs that pay well and achieve a higher standard of living than had they not attended college. It is not unreasonable to expect them to shoulder a bigger burden of the cost for said benefits. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:10:46 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41213 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41214 I never received a scholarship because my parents made “enough money” together to get me through college. Funny thing though, they make enough money to put me through college, as long as they live poorly. I have to pay my own way through college, and the lack of scholarships is really taking a hit to my debt count. I’m really glad that your daddy is paying your way, so you don’t have to worry about it. P.S., “You can’t transform a state’s economy if you price the next generation of workers out of a college education” Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:12:34 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41214 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41218 my daddy paid for all undergrad expenses, living expenses, and is paying my grad school expenses, and living expenses. A nice life indeed Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:45:14 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41218 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41219 Are you the STUDENT newspaper? This is apalling, you dimwits can’t think of other ways to cut from the budget other the source of what helps students get through school? You all should be so very ashamed. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:49:40 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41219 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41224 One way to partially solve this issue would have it be a “loan” for 4 years, if you graduate with a degree from the school you go to, the loan is forgiven, if not you then owe the state the money back and start accruing interest. This way the people who use it to go to party and drop out will not have the state pay for 2 years of drunkeness. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:16:46 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41224 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41232 I’d love to see where your numbers on the 75% percent of students not “needing” aid come from. I know many college students that MSU decided did not “need” aid based on family incomes but those are rarely correct. Perhaps the editorial board is part of the privileged few who could afford to lose such a luxury. Another great piece of research and journalism from the State News… Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:15:56 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41232 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41235 Why “invest in Michigan’s future”? most graduates will flee to Chicago, New York and Washington D.C. the day they graduate… Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:33:12 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41235 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41238 I put myself through college (via student loans) and I think more people should do the same. How sad is it that we now live in a world where everyone wants to be handed out an entitlement? It is not your right to go to college. It is not up to the state or the federal government to fund it for you. My parents are hard-working, middle class people but could not afford to send me to college and I was not eligible for financial aid because my parents apparently made too much. So I took student loans out. I am so sick of the welfare that our state and federal government give out to anybody and everybody. We are creating a lazy society and this truly saddens me. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:23:04 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41238 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41247 Disgraceful. You actually call yourselfs the “Student Voice”….Incredible As one tax paying student (Yes we all pay fees to the State News each semester) I demand an explanation and retraction. Otherwise, perhaps all “11,000” of us MSU students your article endorses taking financial aid away from can recoup some of that loss by refunding our State News taxes… Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:55:41 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41247 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41250 “Seventy-five percent of recipients don’t require any financial aid to attend college and the remaining 25 percent still can be eligible for need-based scholarships. It’s great the state awards money based on which students do the best academically, but it’s not completely necessary.” Yes, yes. Let us punish our brightest – the ones that should be in college – and welcome to school the mediocre and poor. This is a travesty, albeit an unsurprising one. As America continues down the “gimme, gimme” path and encourages the sense of entitlement that many young people have today, the bright and hardworking are going to continue to get screwed. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:31:01 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41250 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41253 In addition to echoing many of the above comments, I would like to add that the Michigan “Promise” scholarship was established to ease tuition increases that were to come from the state funding cuts to higher education. Discontinuing the “Promise” scholarship would in fact, be a double hit to students. Yes, it is true that funding has to come from somewhere. And yes, it is true that no one wants to see their “cause,” whatever that may be, hurt by the state’s budget deficit. However, as stated before, taking away this money can only work to alienate deserving students, just as this editorial surely does. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:38:30 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41253 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41261 The State News has been awesome lately. I honestly dont understand why the state of Michigan even gives out scholarships. How is it the duty of the state (read: taxpayers) to pay for a private individuals education. Please some one enlighten me? Why should I, a hardworking tax payer, pay for somebody else to go to college? Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:47:22 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41261 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41303 Because, as an economist (and any of us will agree), society reaps a very large economic reward by having a highly educated workforce. So, the state (and nations) GSP/GDP will increase and all of us will be better off if we have a highly skilled workforce. Investments in education are, generally speaking, good returns on the dollar. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:04:49 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41303 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41310 And just plain WRONG!!! Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:35:55 -0400 http://www.statenews.com/index.php/comment/view/41310