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The Student Voice of St. Joseph’s Academy • Established 1930
tudent Prints May Issue
St. Joseph’s Academy • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 2017-2018 Volume 87, Number 5 May 5, 2018
Can You Afford LSU? Why Should You Care? by Lara Nicholson
“I would not be in college if it weren’t for TOPS,” said McNeese State University freshman Monee Atilee. “I’d have to pay $5,000 out of pocket, plus books. If they cut TOPS, I’ll have to drop out. I can’t afford it at all.” Atilee joins the 52,000 students who depend on the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) each year for college tuition. The program, begun in 1989, rewards students with a minimum GPA of 2.5 and ACT score of 20 with almost full-tuition compensation for instate students. However, state deficits have influenced the government to reexamine the program. Louisiana currently possesses a deficit of approximately $943 million. This budget crisis has occurred due to years of low annual state revenue, coupled with plummeting oil prices that have damaged the state economy. This sudden economic downturn has led to drastic proposals such as cancelling LSU football games, shutting down all Louisiana public universities and unplugging kidney disease victims from dialysis machines just to make ends meet. Since TOPS costs Louisiana nearly $292 million annually, legislators frequently discuss cutting funding to the program. Proposed 2018 legislation includes raising minimum GPAs for college students, which could lead to $2.9 million in savings by 2020. Another bill proposes to only grant TOPS to students who attend community college before pursuing a bachelor’s degree. The third most popular bill in Louisiana legislation at the moment is HB 161, which would require college dropouts to repay the amount of the TOPS awards they used. These students collectively comprise 12 percent of the average number of five-year recipients. Many supporters of these bills argue that current TOPS funds are being wasted on students who focus more on partying than studying, that current credentials are too lenient and that many TOPS recipients’ parents make more than $150,000 per year with the ability to pay for college themselves. However, students across the state oppose cutting TOPS as a means of improving the budget crisis. “I think you’re going to see a lot of people leave the state or possibly not go to college at all if they start cutting TOPS,” said University of Louisiana at Lafayette economics major
Charles Savage. Opponents also believe that after backlash from around the state following the 2016 TOPS cuts (which slashed 60 percent of pre-existing funds for the spring semester), the government should strive to cut funding from other programs before upsetting thousands of students and parents across the state. In hopes of swaying officials’ opinions, the American Student Government Association (ASGA) began a statewide letter-writing campaign in order to provide students with a way to become civically engaged in this personal financial matter. Thousands of letters written by college students were sent to state representative Neil Abramson (D-New Orleans) on the matter. “We know from historical data that a college-educated populous is a more prosperous populous, at least in greater tax revenue, but for some incredible reason, we continue to ignore that here, especially in Louisiana,” McNeese State University SGA President Ryan Robledo said. “I think that’s the problem, and it’s a big oversight on the part of our politicians.” Even if they are unable to vote, this is just one of many examples of how students can influence education policy through civic engagement. Politicians can be unaware of their constituents’ wants and concerns unless directly contacted by them through letters, emails and phone calls. One way to contact politicians is by texting RESIST to 50409. This text-message service allows citizens to choose the recipient of their email as well as its content. From there, the service will email representatives and senators instantly. The fastest and most effective way to contact local politicians, however, is to contact their offices directly. This provides faster connection than letters, and comments and complaints are recorded and filed immediately following the call. The future of Louisiana students’ education funding lies in the hands of Louisiana politicians. It’s crucial that the next generation of Louisianians is involved in the process through every method available by both voting and acting.