The reality is there’s no room in the budget to provide $80.5 million of funding to keep the scholarship. Despite this fact, Granholm has embarked on a tour of college campuses calling on students to continue fighting for the Promise.

Although Granholm has the right to ask students, once again, to continue rallying to restore the grants that once were available to 96,000 students, we can’t see it being any benefit to students — and may actually be doing harm to them.

Every MSU student can agree that with the state of the economy, every bit of scholarship money is important and should be pursued. But now Granholm is providing false hope to those who already have taken on second jobs while applying for alternative scholarships, more loans and financial aid opportunities.

Granholm’s new plan is to convince state representatives to approve changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit that would provide enough revenue to bring back the Promise Scholarship. These changes would give the state $120 million in discretionary money, which she hopes to use to restore the Promise.

We know we have a voice, but it’s Granholm who has the pen. She had her opportunity, and it passed her by. No good can come from a tour with little hope of success — and traveling expenses paid for by the cash-starved state.

Students have protested, and it seems unnecessary to tell them to continue expending effort toward something that has only the slimmest chance of returning. We sucked it up and dealt with the reality of it being gone, and it is very confusing that Granholm has chosen to do this tour after the Promise’s fate already has been determined.

It’s time to take a step back and come together as students to find a more productive use of our time. Granholm might have good intentions, but let’s be honest with each other.

Go ahead, follow the advice of Granholm and contact your legislators if you wish. But it seems to us that students’ efforts could find more productive outlets. There are too many causes out there that have chances of success for people to waste time on those that are doomed.

With so few jobs on the market, it’s important that students stay in school, despite financial hardships. The need for financial aid hasn’t disappeared just because the Promise is gone.

Rather than waste time on a dead and buried scholarship, let’s put our heads together to find other ways to keep those in need in school. Let’s show Granholm touring state colleges is not a productive use of time. We need to hear the cold hard truth and prepare for the worst.

To do anything else is just a disservice to students.