[Student Reporters] Proposal to Reduce Cal Grants Sparks Concern

Jay Kim / <12th, Granada Hills Charter HS>

A proposal to cut back on Cal Grant as part of a larger plan to address California's $42 billion budget deficit has been proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Cal Grant is the central financial program offering different grants and amounts for college bound students who meet the eligibility requirements. Schwarzenegger's proposal consists of an $87.5 million reduction which is equivalent to 10 percent of the Cal Grant budget.

This proposal may also occur simultaneously with a 10 percent increase in fees for University of California (UC) schools and state schools; a possible solution for schools to cope with the financial crisis and the state budget deficit.

"It's unfair that they would be raising tuition and other prices on us at the same time that Cal Grant might experience severe cuts" Eugene Lee a junior at Granada Hills Charter high school said. "It's overwhelming."

"I know many Koreans who can't even attend college because they can't financially afford it" Jeff Kim a senior at Harvard Westlake high school said. "It's heartbreaking to see people who work so hard to be unable to attend good colleges like UC Berkeley because they can't afford it and California can't afford to send them anymore either."

According to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) these cut backs would affect those who attend or plan to attend community college the most with 58 percent of those already eligible for Cal Grant being community college students.



"It's understandable that California needs to address the budget deficit and pull through the economic recession but taking away from the most important tool for later success education is unreasonable" Alex Lee a student at Pierce Community College said. "Some students choose to attend community colleges in the first place because they can't afford anything else so if you take Cal Grants away too what do they have left?"

"This new proposal shatters the future of many students Korean Americans especially who want to attend California state schools and UC's" Daniel Kuh a senior at Granada Hills high school who aspires to attend UC Berkeley next year said. "Our state government is sending out the wrong message: education is not the first priority. If it wasn't a first priority our world would be in grave danger in the future."