Thursday, March 19, 1998
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
THUMBS:
Student fees help others
Thumbs up to a student-designed mandatory fee created to allow
more students to be able to afford attending school.
The program at the University of Illinois aims to make college
more affordable for those who need financial assistance. Each
student is charged $9 per year, while the Illinois Student
Assistance Commission matches every dollar collected by the
students. The commission then takes the money and awards students
demonstrating need for financial assistance. Students have the
opportunity every four years to vote whether the program should
continue.
While the concept of students helping other needy students is
great, the state should be providing all the financial aid to make
higher education more affordable and accessible to all. The state
should bear the responsibility.
Campus club funding cut
Thumbs down to the Northwestern University Associated Student
Government for cutting funding for several campus student groups.
The organizations no longer recognized by the student government
will not be able to apply for funding which goes toward paying for
programs throughout the year. The student government committee made
their decision to cut recognition based on groups’ membership,
financial conduct, quality of programming and how similar they are
to other groups.
However, some organizations claimed that their programming was
weak as a result of inadequate funding in the first place. The
Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Alliance and the Taiwanese American
Students Club were among the many organizations cut by the student
government’s funding priorities. Group members stressed the
importance of each of the individual clubs to promote awareness of
their specific causes.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents a majority opinion of the Daily
Bruin Editorial Board. Send comments or suggestions to
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