Lt. Gov. Cherry in favor of keeping Mich. Promise

Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry was on campus Wednesday to speak in support of the Michigan Promise Scholarship, a merit-based student grant that provides up to $4,000 to students who complete up to two years of post-secondary education in the state.

The rally kicked off a statewide campaign to save the scholarship, which the state Senate recently voted to slash from Michigan’s budget, said Mitchell Rivard, president of the MSU College Democrats, which hosted the event.

“Ninty-six thousand students across Michigan are depending on the Michigan Promise to help them pay their expenses for school this fall,” Cherry said. “It’s a program that we ought to expand, not cut, if we want our children to find good jobs in the 21st century economy.”

Approximately 11,000 MSU students receive the Michigan Promise Scholarship, Rivard said.

“If you’re lucky, you have enough money to pay for college,” he said. “But most people don’t, and they’re going to be living in debt. They’re going to be taking out loans with high interest. This is something we need to get under control.”

Laura Klinger, a comparative cultures and politics sophomore, spoke at the rally about how the scholarship helped her family pay for academic expenses. She said she doesn’t qualify for financial aid and that every little bit helps when trying to pay for school.

“(MSU is) increasing tuition 5.2 percent this year and if (the state takes) away this scholarship, they’re hitting us from both sides,” she said. “It’s just not fair. It’s not right.”

The scholarship was first created as the Michigan Merit Award under former Michigan Gov. John Engler as a merit-based scholarship that offered $2,500 to students based on scores attained on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP. Gov. Jennifer Granholm increased that amount to $4,000 in 2006, Cherry said. The scholarship was renamed the Michigan Promise Scholarship that same year.

“Those who are able to borrow tuition funding will simply add to their heavy debt load,” he said. “The less fortunate will postpone or end their plans for further study. Part of Michigan’s plan to maintain our edge in a skilled work force through constant education improvement will be set back.”

Rivard said the College Democrats will be working with about five or six similar groups on campuses around the state as well as the Michigan Federation of College Democrats to involve students with their effort.

“It’s going to have to be a grassroots effort,” he said. “People are going to have to come in and they’re going to have to write and call their legislators (and) talk to their local newspapers to get this attention in the media and shed light on the Republicans that are trying to kill this scholarship.”

The scholarship has not officially been cut, as the state House of Representatives’ version of Michigan’s budget did not call for it. Cutting the scholarship would shave off $140 million of the state’s budget deficit of almost $2 billion.

Cherry is considered to be a strong contender for the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s governorship in 2010, although he has not formally announced his intentions to run. As the lieutenant governor, Cherry, a Democrat, presides over the state Senate, which is currently controlled by a Republican majority.