Higher Education Act critical to students
Issue date: 10/31/03 Section: Editorial
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Anyone who has ever attended college knows at least one thing: college is expensive. Hendrix may be a "best buy" by national standards, but that doesn't make 20 grand any less money or any easier to come up with.
Most graduates, though, would agree that it's worth the expense. Loans, grants and work-study programs help absorb some of this expense. Thanks to Lyndon Johnson, the federal government foots the bill for many Americans college educations through the above programs. The Higher Education Act of 1965 was part of Johnson's "Great Society" program, which subsequent American political regimes have done their best to eliminate.
Unfortunately, in all the brouhaha over Iraq, renewal of the Higher Education Act seems to be absent from the national agenda or at least the national conversation. Politicians can worry about where the $87 billion is going to come from to continue the frivolous war abroad, but by doing so they ignore pressing domestic concerns.
Of course, none of the Bushes or the Cheneys or the sons and daughters of the millionaires' club on Capitol Hill have to worry about financing higher education; no wonder it fails to be a political concern.
Average Americans who diligently fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms each year should start informing themselves about the act. And then they should start informing their representatives of their opinions. Though reauthorization likely won't come before Congress until 2004, the issue is too critical to let slide until then.
Tom Wolfe, among others, has noted that America is divided into two classes: those who have been to college and those who have not. One's ability to attend college has more to do with economic plenitude than academic aptitude. These two sad facts make the Higher Education Act so vital.
The Higher Education Act should assure that anyone with the academic ability to succeed in college had the financial resources to attend. The more people who attend college, the more people will realize that members of the class who have not been to college, as Northwestern Professor Joseph Epstein writes, haven't missed all that much. Maybe then such arbitrary class distinctions can begin to be erased.
Call, write or talk directly with your lawmakers. Visit to find your representative or call the offices of U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln at (202) 224-4843 or Mark Pryor at (202) 224-2353.
Most graduates, though, would agree that it's worth the expense. Loans, grants and work-study programs help absorb some of this expense. Thanks to Lyndon Johnson, the federal government foots the bill for many Americans college educations through the above programs. The Higher Education Act of 1965 was part of Johnson's "Great Society" program, which subsequent American political regimes have done their best to eliminate.
Unfortunately, in all the brouhaha over Iraq, renewal of the Higher Education Act seems to be absent from the national agenda or at least the national conversation. Politicians can worry about where the $87 billion is going to come from to continue the frivolous war abroad, but by doing so they ignore pressing domestic concerns.
Of course, none of the Bushes or the Cheneys or the sons and daughters of the millionaires' club on Capitol Hill have to worry about financing higher education; no wonder it fails to be a political concern.
Average Americans who diligently fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms each year should start informing themselves about the act. And then they should start informing their representatives of their opinions. Though reauthorization likely won't come before Congress until 2004, the issue is too critical to let slide until then.
Tom Wolfe, among others, has noted that America is divided into two classes: those who have been to college and those who have not. One's ability to attend college has more to do with economic plenitude than academic aptitude. These two sad facts make the Higher Education Act so vital.
The Higher Education Act should assure that anyone with the academic ability to succeed in college had the financial resources to attend. The more people who attend college, the more people will realize that members of the class who have not been to college, as Northwestern Professor Joseph Epstein writes, haven't missed all that much. Maybe then such arbitrary class distinctions can begin to be erased.
Call, write or talk directly with your lawmakers. Visit
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