Possible funding cuts threaten minority retention

By JENNIFER E. REITZ
Collegian Staff Writer

The big picture. It often gets lost in all the hustle and bustle of the daily grind of the University and the lives of individual students. But in the midst of what some fear to be a major financial aid crisis facing Penn State, it's the big picture that may be up against the greatest threat of all.

According to the Alliance to Save Student Aid, the U.S. Congress could propose to reduce federal financial assistance by $20 billion during the next five years. For Penn State, that boils down to $7 million less in financial aid for students -- in addition to the $66.1 million of need that the University already fails to meet.

And for minority students across the country, it could mean a huge setback along the road to advancement.

Many minority students who now attend Penn State are here because of the financial aid they receive from assistance programs such as Stafford Loans and Federal Work Study -- two programs that are being targeted for cuts, said Chris Atkinson, president of Black Caucus.

Taking that aid away could force minority students to drop out, he said. The cuts would also make Penn State less attractive to minority high school students who are already scraping to make ends meet.

"A disproportionate amount of lower-income families in this country are minorities," Atkinson said, pointing out that from the advent of the nation, racial intolerance has forced minorities into the basement of income distribution. "The cycle of repression has often been offset by education."

But if the congressional cuts go through, not only will the minority community at Penn State be affected, low-income minority students across the country may not have much of a choice when it comes to higher education, possibly rewinding that cycle by decades.

Bronwen Wagner, director of student-aid operations and University scholarships, said 81 percent of black Penn State students received about $6.7 million in federal aid last year and 71 percent of Latino students received about $3.2 million. That is only a small fraction of the federal aid minority students receive each year on the national level.

And at a time when the University is stressing minority recruitment and retention as a primary goal, financial aid cuts could be a major blow to its game plan.

"It's definitely going to have an impact on the kind of students Penn State wants to attract," Wagner said. "It's bleak that cuts are being made to deny students education. It's a pretty scary picture right now."

Terri Ragin (junior-exercise and sport science) said if the cuts come into effect, her goals may be unattainable. Ragin, who is going to school on scholarships and loans, hopes to attend medical school upon graduation.

Not only will she need all her aid in order to finish as an undergraduate, Ragin said there is no way she will be able to afford medical school without financial assistance.

"It's going to affect me big time. We can barely afford school now," she said.

Ragin said financial aid cuts would have a detrimental effect on the black community as a whole.

"We're having enough problems getting to school as it is," she said.

And denying aid to potential doctors like Ragin is denying the prosperity and cultural diversity of America in the 21st century, Atkinson said.

"With financial aid, you're not just investing in individuals, you're investing in the future," Atkinson said.