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Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 83 – No. 1 | September 11-17, 2019
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Priced Out: Higher Education out of reach for low income Michigan families
“Perfect storm” of state funding cuts, rising tuition, and weak state financial aid create college affordability crisis By Michael V. Hubbard
invests little in need-based grant aid. Michigan now ranks close to the bottom nationally in terms of the share of state budget spending that goes toward higher education. In part due to these funding cuts, Michigan also has some of the highest public tuition levels in the nation, forcing many students and families to take on significant debt to attend college, if they are able to afford it at all.
College is not the only road to the American Dream, but it is a proven one. With each successive degree, graduates are more likely to be in the workforce, to be employed, and to earn more. Yet, even as the importance of a college degree has increased, so has the cost of one. College prices have soared across the board, at two-year and four-year schools, and at both public and private institutions. This leaves college financially out of reach for many Americans, puts a large financial burden on those that do attend, and leaves many students with high levels of debt. The latter being especially true in the Great Lakes State, according to MSN: Michigan residents owe $47.2 billion in student loan debt. On average, Michigan borrowers owe $34,028 each. In past generations, Americans could work through the summer to save enough money to pay their tuition and living expenses. Their children and grandchildren today face a much different reality. Students today often must take out tens of thousands in debt to cover their costs and pay their living expenses. For those that end up with valuable degrees, this results in an additional payment every month that might preclude them from buying a home or starting a business. For those that don’t
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end up with a degree, that debt can haunt them for the rest of their lives. An exhaustive new study of the public higher education landscape in Michigan finds the state is facing a “college affordability crisis” marked by sharp cuts in state funding to public institutions, rapidly rising tuition levels, and a weak state financial aid system that doesn’t cover the widening gap in students’ unmet financial needs. The report from
researchers at The Century Foundation (TCF), a leading national think tank, reveals that the crisis is especially acute for Michigan’s black, Latinx, and low-income families, and has been exacerbated by the state’s worst-in-the-nation wage declines over the last two decades. Core to the affordability crisis, the report finds, is state policy. Lansing has cut state appropriations per student by 40 percent since 2000, and the state
“Michigan is facing a perfect storm in college affordability,” said Jen Mishory, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, and co-author of the new report. “You have a state government that has sharply cut funding to students and failed to address a weak and poorly designed financial aid system. On top of that, tuition, fees, and living costs continue to climb faster and faster, while real wages for most Michigan families have actually fallen. What you’re left with is a system of higher education that is increasingly unequal, unsustainable, and out of reach, especially for those Michiganders most in need.” The new study, Michigan’s College Affordability Crisis, is a comprehensive look at Michigan’s higher education system broadly. TCF experts present new data and analysis on areas such as: state appropriations year-over-year; the structure and scale of state, federal, and
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National Expungement Week (N.E.W.) Returns September 21-28, 2019 Over 40 Free Record Clearing, Sealing, and Educational Events Scheduled in 30 U.S. Cities
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The second annual National Expungement Week (N.E.W) will be held from September 21-28, 2019, with events in 30 cities throughout the country. A coalition of more than three dozen organizations working at the intersection of the cannabis industry, racial equity, and reparative justice, led by Equity First Alliance and Cage-Free Repair, conceived the week to highlight the need to fully integrate those disenfranchised by the war on drugs within their respective communities. Events to be featured throughout the week include free clinics to help remove, seal, or reclassify eligible convictions from criminal records (depending on local legislation), as well as provide expungement education workshops and complementary services. N.E.W. events have inspired teams of attorneys, organizers, and activists nationwide to continue to increase expungement opportunities where possible, with over 40 events scheduled
to take place throughout the week. Cities featuring participating events have nearly doubled from 16 in 2018 to 30, including major hubs such as Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. N.E.W. is made possible by presenting sponsors Houseplant and Canopy Growth Corporation, dozens of local sponsors and partners, and the tireless work of community-based organizations dedicated to repairing harms of the War on Drugs. “Too many people are locked up in this country, and far too many people are still locked out of society long after they’ve completed their sentence. This week offers a way to provide legal relief and wraparound services to justice-impacted people and their families while calling for automated expungement,” says Torie Marshall, director of programs at Cage-Free Repair. The inaugural N.E.W., which ran from October 20-27, 2018, is
credited with leading 298 people to record clearing and sealing resulting in a public benefit of over $3 million in its first year alone. Over 400 people also received related social services including employment resources, voter registration, and health screenings. Though expungement legislation, especially in regards to cannabis convictions, has gained in acceptance across the political spectrum, the laws themselves present a virtual web of legal procedures and restrictions, solidifying N.E.W.’s push to expand access to expungement and streamline the use of automated expungement. “Every community’s events look different. In Boston, our event will feature record clearance and GED services, voter registration, and a City Councilor candidate forum. In Chicago, educational events will let people know about recent changes in the state’s expungement and cannabis laws. In Washington, DC, N.E.W. events will provide housing and legal assistance,
resume workshops, and other re-entry services,” says Joe Gilmore, president of Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council, one of the participating organizations. Here in Detroit, on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 1pm, Pastor Myron Jenkins of the Biblical Faith Ministry Center, Attorney Robyn L. McCoy of McCoy & Associates, PLLC, and the Michigan Children’s Law Center, are collaborating to bring an Expungement Forum with the Honorable Judge Deborah Thomas of the Third Circuit Court and a Legislative Update with the Honorable State Representative Issac Robinson and Former State Representative Mary Waters to the Biblical Faith Ministry Center located at 20118 Schoolcraft, Detroit, Michigan 48223. The event is free and open to the public. Pastor Myron Jenkins said that his church is “committed to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world” and “making
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