The Monetary Award Program (MAP) is in limbo as a budget battle between Gov. Bruce Rauner (R – Winnetka) and the Democrat-led legislature continues into the start of the school year.
The program provides need-based grants to thousands of Illinois college students. More than 5,000 of those recipients go to DePaul. The university has the largest number of MAP recipients of any private institution in the state; Northern Illinois University has the most overall.
The issue is caught in the middle of a state budget crisis. Rauner, who was sworn into office in January, has locked heads with powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan (D – Chicago), who has been speaker for all but two years since 1983. The governor ran as an outsider, criticizing the Democrats’, and specifically Madigan’s, stewardship of the state.
Democrats have balked at a number of Rauner’s proposed pro-business, anti-union reforms. While the Democrat-controlled State Senate passed MAP funding last month, the House has not yet taken up the measure and Rauner has shown no interest in utilizing a piecemeal approach in budget negotiations.
“It is our hope that legislators can set aside their differences and come to an agreed upon budget that will reflect the importance of higher education in the state, and especially MAP,” said DePaul Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President Richard Popp.
MAP is a major priority of SGA’s, and according to Popp, they have been working in tandem to rally lobbyists and Illinois residents to fight for the program.
“If the situation continues on in its current state, DePaul and SGA are prepared to take additional steps to send a strong message that MAP is a critical piece of financial aid to so many students who are pursuing their goals of higher education,” Popp said.
Acknowledging the poor financial state and a toxic political environment in Springfield, the university set aside reserve funds that will temporarily cover the cost of MAP grants as it waits to be reimbursed by the state.
In addition, while tuition increased last year, institutional financial aid went up at an even higher percentage.
Students’ views on the MAP grants reflect the importance they place on them.
“It is absolutely essential to maintain funding for higher education,” said DePaul graduate student Katie Pantell. “(I)t simply does not make sense to make education prohibitively expensive for our nation’s students. They are the future of our nation, and starting them off in life with crippling debt severely limits their potential.”
When asked about potential solutions, Pantell insisted that some of the blame falls on millennials. Particularly because they have the lowest voting turnout of any generation.
“If millennials had voted en masse, Rauner would never have been elected in the first place,” she said. It is time for our nation’s college students to wake up and recognize that their votes matter; if we fail to vote, we are waiving all control over our future.”
In the meantime, Pantell and Popp agree that what everyone needs to do, whether they personally benefit from this grant or not, is to contact their state representatives and make their voices heard.
Every April, SGA leads a contingent of students down to Springfield to lobby for MAP grants.