From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
10:25 AM
Subject: What the Governor's talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
SPECIAL MICHIGAN PROMISE
EDITION
Governor Winds Up Visits to Michigan Colleges and
Universities
Hundreds of Wayne State Students Protest
Elimination of Promise Scholarship
SVSU Student Newspaper
Editorial: Make Higher Education a Priority
Governor Winds Up Visits to Michigan
Colleges and Universities
The governor
concluded her visits to seven Michigan college campuses with yesterday’s
Michigan Promise event at Eastern Michigan University.
“It’s not too late
to save the Michigan Promise, and I’m really here to ask for your help,” the
governor said at the EMU event which included students from the University of
Michigan and Washtenaw Community College as well as EMU. “This promise
should be kept, but we can’t do it alone.”
The governor said
she expects the Michigan House and Senate will revisit the Promise scholarship
when they return to session next week.
Starting November
18, the governor visited Michigan State University, Saginaw Valley State
University, Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Western
Michigan University, Oakland Community College and EMU.
Key
messages:
• The Senate Republican leadership eliminated
the Michigan Promise from this year’s budget. Education is a priority for
the Granholm administration, but apparently not for Senate
Republicans.
• The fight to
restore the Michigan Promise scholarship is winnable. However, it requires the
voices of students, parents, educators and other interested parties to be heard
loud and clear.
• Members of
the Senate are hired by and accountable to the people, and they need to hear
from people about restoring the Promise scholarships.
• Funding for
the Promise can be provided by slowing down a scheduled increase in the state
Earned Income Tax Credit. Instead of raising the EITC from 10 percent to
20 percent, if we raise it only to 12.5 percent, we can fund the Promise
scholarship.
• We need the
Senate Republican leadership to take action. Through an earlier vote, the
Senate has already shown it is willing to use money for the EITC increase for
another purpose. We can pay for the Promise by slowing the rate of
increase in the EITC. This is one way we can keep the Promise.
Hundreds of Wayne State Students
Protest Elimination of Promise Scholarship
About 500 students
rallied outside Wayne State University’s Welcome Center on Monday to protest
elimination of the Michigan Promise scholarship. Students waved signs and
chanted “Keep the Michigan Promise!”
“I don’t have access
to a lot of funding for college,” said Keeley Czartorski, a WSU freshman at the
rally whose parents are both laid-off auto workers. “That $4,000 is
books. That $4,000 is classes. That $4,000 is my education. And
without it, it’s an even bigger obstacle to overcome.”
“Education needs to
be a priority for the state of Michigan,” said WSU senior Mike Sullivan.
“We’re the future and we’re going to be what’s going to turn this economy
around.”
SVSU Student Newspaper Editorial:
Make Higher Education a Priority
The Valley Vanguard,
the student newspaper of Saginaw Valley State University, ran an editorial
Monday calling for higher education to be a priority in
Michigan.
The editorial
mentions the November 18 Michigan Promise event at SVSU, saying “the four
students who provided opening remarks sent a clear message that Michigan
students are unhappy about their lost scholarship money and, most importantly,
that we want the state legislature to hear us out and make higher education a
priority… We can promise the legislature that we won’t let higher education slip
from their agenda. Granholm reminded us Wednesday that the states with the
highest education levels have the thriving economies. It will take our
actions to make Michigan one of those states.”