Legislature reinstates MAP Grant on Lobby Day
Some wonder if controversy was real
Jake Nash
Issue date: 10/19/09 Section: News
Media Credit: Jake NashThe scene at the end of Lobby Day. With the reinstatement of the MAP grant, the controversy seems to have disappeared.
Students from across the state of Illinois joined forces and flooded the Illinois Capitol Building in Springfield last Thursday with the intention of showing legislators how important the MAP grant is students in the Land of Lincoln. According to statistics, about 6,000 UIC students, 40% of undergraduates, receive an average of $4,000 each year in MAP grant funding, and about 138,000 students in Illinois receive the MAP grant. Last spring, the legislature announced that it would be unable to pay for MAP grants promised to students for the spring semester.
At 12:00, a student-led rally took place outside the capitol building which drew throngs of students from a plethora of different colleges who were accompanied by concerned school administrators and citizens. Many presidents of the student body from various universities spoke and one student led the crowd in chanting, "Un-ex-ept-able!" The gathering was raucous and bawdy.
Carlos Reyes, a Public Relations major at SIU and recipient of the MAP grant, felt that the rally was beneficial as it "showed that students really care about their education." Another student, Liz LeBrom, a graduate student studying Advanced Communications at SIU, does not receive the MAP but was there to support her friends. "I was short of money my senior year, and I had a professor who really went to bat for me, and now I can't just sit back and watch while they take the MAP away."
While many students from other colleges protested under a white tent around the block from the Capitol, the Undergraduate Student Government delegation from UIC spent the day lobbying state congressmen and senators. Lobbying involves approaching a legislator, at their office or in the hall, and telling them what the MAP grant means to them and how taking it away will damage their future, then demanding that the state legislature find an adequate source of revenue to support the program. While many of these efforts proved fruitless, as some legislators dodged students and others were unavailable, some students did get through to legislators and were able to talk to them and discuss their needs.
The day took an unexpected turn at around 3:30 PM, as cheers echoed through the rotunda of the capitol building. It was announced that a bill allowing Governor Pat Quinn to reinstate MAP Grant funds had just passed in the state senate. The bill has been criticized by state leaders and students for authorizing Quinn to spend the money but not appropriating the funds. In effect, the state told Quinn to find the money without direction. State legislators have criticized Quinn by saying that this controversy was unnecessary as Quinn was given 1.2 billion dollars to spend as he wished months ago.
The day concluded with a talk by State Senator Martin Sandoval, whose daughter, Angeles, is a UIC student. Sandoval applauded the efforts of students and called Lobby Day a truly democratic display. Although students will likely receive the MAP grant for the coming spring semester, the senator grimly forecast that they will be back next year due to the sad shape of our nation's economy.
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At 12:00, a student-led rally took place outside the capitol building which drew throngs of students from a plethora of different colleges who were accompanied by concerned school administrators and citizens. Many presidents of the student body from various universities spoke and one student led the crowd in chanting, "Un-ex-ept-able!" The gathering was raucous and bawdy.
Carlos Reyes, a Public Relations major at SIU and recipient of the MAP grant, felt that the rally was beneficial as it "showed that students really care about their education." Another student, Liz LeBrom, a graduate student studying Advanced Communications at SIU, does not receive the MAP but was there to support her friends. "I was short of money my senior year, and I had a professor who really went to bat for me, and now I can't just sit back and watch while they take the MAP away."
While many students from other colleges protested under a white tent around the block from the Capitol, the Undergraduate Student Government delegation from UIC spent the day lobbying state congressmen and senators. Lobbying involves approaching a legislator, at their office or in the hall, and telling them what the MAP grant means to them and how taking it away will damage their future, then demanding that the state legislature find an adequate source of revenue to support the program. While many of these efforts proved fruitless, as some legislators dodged students and others were unavailable, some students did get through to legislators and were able to talk to them and discuss their needs.
The day took an unexpected turn at around 3:30 PM, as cheers echoed through the rotunda of the capitol building. It was announced that a bill allowing Governor Pat Quinn to reinstate MAP Grant funds had just passed in the state senate. The bill has been criticized by state leaders and students for authorizing Quinn to spend the money but not appropriating the funds. In effect, the state told Quinn to find the money without direction. State legislators have criticized Quinn by saying that this controversy was unnecessary as Quinn was given 1.2 billion dollars to spend as he wished months ago.
The day concluded with a talk by State Senator Martin Sandoval, whose daughter, Angeles, is a UIC student. Sandoval applauded the efforts of students and called Lobby Day a truly democratic display. Although students will likely receive the MAP grant for the coming spring semester, the senator grimly forecast that they will be back next year due to the sad shape of our nation's economy.
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