A proposed federal budget reconciliation currently facing Congress would cut more than $14 billion in federal student aid over the next four years, prompting concern from members of the Boston University community.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said the university understands the financial burden of attending a private university and will take into account every aspect of a student’s ability to pay for college.
“We think more money should be going into financing higher education, not reducing it,” he said. “We absolutely do take into account what resources are out there and where the aid will come from. We certainly recognize that Congressional support and governmental support is crucial to students having the ability to invest in their education.”
College of General Studies sophomore Tara Robinson said she and some of her peers have mobilized on campus to prevent the reconciliation from being passed.
Earlier this month, Robinson chartered Students for MassPIRG. The group, an offshoot of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, is currently awaiting official recognition by the Student Activities Office, but has already launched its fall campaign.
Robinson, the group’s president, said the “Stop the Raid on Student Aid” campaign aims to educate students about the proposed federal budget reconciliation that would add almost an estimated $6,000 to the total debt of each college student over the next four years.
“As of right now, most students at Boston University do not know about what’s going on with the federal budget,” she said, adding that students must be aware of the situation because “people who aren’t in our generation are going to be making decisions that will affect our future.”
Robinson said Students for MassPIRG are focusing on the aid issue because it affects every student.
“I don’t think there’s one student who would agree that it is a good idea to cut $9 billion from federal aid,” she said. “For some students, this could prevent them from being able to attend college.”
Many students said they were unaware of the current budget proposal and they were worried about the future debt they could incur as a result of the cut.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Katherine Sheeran said although $6,000 seems small in the long run, it would dramatically affect her ability to pay for school.
“I need financial aid so something like that would really affect my future, especially since I’m planning to go to law school,” she said. “This will just add on more debt. Six thousand dollars is still a lot of money.”
Riley said because financial assistance is determined on an individual basis, the university does take into account outside factors, such as the current proposal, when distributing aid.
“We are looking at each particular situation,” he said. “We do understand that if there is a decrease in federal financial aid that it will have an effect on their ability to [pay for school].”
College of Engineering sophomore Adam Nadeau said Congress needs to find an alternative to reconcile the budget.
“[Congress] needs to think of something else to do,” he said. “[The cut] is not fair.”
In the wake of the War in Iraq and Gulf Coast hurricanes, Robinson said Congress has mishandled the national budget.
“With the war deficit and Katrina, they aren’t allocating their resources well at all,” she said. “They’re deciding that students should be the ones paying for all of this.”
The effects of the budget reconciliation will not simply be financial, Robinson said.
“Without education, the future is not that pretty,” she said. “It will be pretty bleak if thousands of students aren’t going to be able to go to college.”
