A winter storm is expected to arrive Sunday and continue into Monday

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

This morning Minnesota student leaders showed reporters a 4,000-plus-signature petition opposing $4.2 billion in proposed cuts to the federal Pell Grant program.

Minnesota State College Student Association (MSCSA)

Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA)

 said state Office of Higher Education figures show that proposed changes in eligibility will eliminate more than 13,000 Minnesotans from the program, costing them $76 million in grants.

The cuts could come out of the Congressional "supercommittee" on the federal deficit, which has until Nov. 23 to make $1.5 trillion in cuts to the federal budget. The students said they're presenting the petition to the Minnesota Congressional delegation.

Amanda Bardonner, state chairwoman of the university student association, said the revisions unfairly target low-income students.

The students' beef with the changes, according to Bardonner:

Geoff Dittberner, chairman of the community-and-technical-college student association, called the Pell Grant "disaster relief" for dislocated workers in the wake of an economic catastrophe:

Student leaders say that unlike their parents and grandparents, today's youths can no longer work enough during summer to pay for college, and part-time jobs don't help much, either. Many of the higher-paying jobs for students are gone, and college expenses have far outpaced what most students can earn during the summer and academic year.

MSCSA spokesman Jonathan Miller said U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-MN) has met with Minnesota student leaders twice this year over the issue. He has been receptive to them, Miller said, but has told them they need to tighten eligibility requirements if they want to avoid further cuts.

Education News

On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

Author

This morning Minnesota student leaders showed reporters a 4,000-plus-signature petition opposing $4.2 billion in proposed cuts to the federal Pell Grant program. Officers from the Minnesota State College Student Association (MSCSA) and Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA) said state Office of Higher Education figures show that proposed changes in eligibility will eliminate more than…

What MN students don't like about proposed Pell changes

Go Deeper.

Like this?