Thursday, March 28, 2024

Students battle for scholarship

July 17, 2002

Student leaders from across the state gathered Tuesday at MSU to form a grassroots coalition to fight a ballot initiative that threatens funding for the Michigan Merit Scholarship program.

The students, representing five public college student governments in the Association of Michigan Universities, hope to join with private schools, community colleges and other groups to take aim at the Healthy Michigan Amendment, which would direct 90 percent of the state’s $8.5 billion tobacco settlement only toward health care programs.

Tobacco settlement money now is used to pay for the scholarship program, which provides $2,500 to college-bound students who meet Michigan Educational Assessment Program test standards, some elderly health care programs, the Life Sciences Corridor, and to make up for budget shortfalls in other areas.

Some opponents of the ballot initiative believe its passage would mean the end of the scholarship program.

“This is something that affects all students,” said Matt Clayson, ASMSU Academic Assembly chairperson. ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

Dave Waymire, a spokesman for People Protecting Kids and the Constitution, asked the group of students to help raise awareness on campus by lobbying university governing bodies and administration.

“Because of the ramifications of the ballot proposal that are so deep and devastating, it’s actually been a pretty easy sell,” Waymire said. “Schools need to set brush fires - students need to come together to protect what they see as an important issue.”

Waymire said the state shouldn’t be limited to spending the settlement money on health care issues because the money is a reimbursement for expenses the state has already incurred.

“That’s like if you went and crashed your car and went to the body shop to fix it and paid for it, then the insurance check comes in the mail and the body shop wants that money, too,” Waymire said. “They do not have an automatic claim on that money.”

But members of Citizens for a Healthy Michigan, which introduced the amendment in March, say otherwise. The organization consists of health, hospital and anti-smoking organizations.

“We don’t have anything against the Michigan Merit program, but it’s not the original intent of the tobacco settlement,” said Lori Latham, campaign manager for the initiative. “If the Legislature wants to keep the program, they will find other avenues to fund it.”

Alice Betz, executive secretary for the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, agreed that the scholarship isn’t the target of the ballot initiative. The chapter is a member of the coalition supporting the proposal.

“The tobacco-settlement dollars were won on the belief the state was spending a lot of money on health care because of people who had died from tobacco use,” she said. “We aren’t against the scholarships, but we think they should find funding elsewhere.”

Student leaders didn’t argue against health care receiving more state money, but said the Legislature should make that decision. The ballot initiative would amend the state constitution to limit where lawmakers can spend settlement money.

Hrant Hratchian, chairman of Association of Michigan Universities and a Wayne State University doctoral student, said opponents of the initiative will not be able to rely on student support because of traditionally low student voter turnout.

Instead, student governments need to get the attention of other groups and parents. ASMSU already has received support from the Detroit Medical Center, Sparrow Health Systems and the Michigan Community College Association.

“It’s not going to be the students voting, it’s going to be the students calling their moms and dads who start yelling about it and they tell grams and gramps,” Hratchian said. “Once you let them know they’re losing money from it, they’ll get to the polls.”

Katie Byrne can be reached at byrnecat@msu.edu.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Students battle for scholarship” on social media.