Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

Funding for the Federal Pell Grant is short $5.7 billion this year, after Congress underestimated the number of students who would request aid and the amount of money they would require. Currently, 39 percent of UC undergraduates — 70,000 students — receive the Pell Grant, according to the University of California website.

Unlike a loan the Pell Grant does not have to be repaid.

The amount of money awarded depends on students’ individual circumstances. For the 2010–2011 school year, the expected maximum amount of money to be distributed was $5,500. However, with the new reductions, the amount of money to be distributed for 2011 and the next school year is $4,705. This equals a 15 percent decrease and an approximate $845 taken off of every Pell Grant awarded.

UCSC student Jamiee Cook, a first–year from Kresge, has received the Pell Grant for two quarters now.

“I already get a lot of financial aid, so my tuition and housing will still be covered. But [because of the Pell Grant downsize] I’m going to have to find other means to pay for school supplies like books and an i>clicker,” Cook said. “[The Pell Grant reductions] really suck … I already took another loan to cover books this quarter because [the price of] housing is ridiculous here.”

Every year the Pell Grant’s funding must be approved by Congress. One million moderate-income students may lose the Pell Grant, and about 6 million low- and moderate-income students will have smaller grants, said FinAid.org website publisher Mark Kantrowitz.

Pell Grant funding shortfalls have occurred and been resolved before.

“UC expends a great deal of time and energy advocating for financial support for students,” said Nancy Coolidge, coordinator for government relations for the University of California Office of the President. “We expect and hope that [Congress] will again fund Pell Grants … as the law anticipates they will — a maximum award for 2011–2012 of $5,550.”

As of now, 8,200 students at UCSC stand to lose aid.

“All students who receive need-based financial aid would be affected [by the Pell Grant shortfall] because a decrease in one fund program causes a shift in all of them,” said Jaimie Vargas, director of strategic planning and communication for Student Affairs at UCSC.

Genevieve Hammang, an Oakes first–year who receives the Pell Grant, said she has already witnessed a decrease in financial aid.

“Last year, my expected family contribution with the FAFSA was $3,000 to $6,000,” Hammang said. “This year it is $17,000.”

The expected family contribution is the amount of money that a student’s family will have to pay after all financial aid is taken into account.

For students who do not qualify for private loans and students who do not want them, the only way around an unaffordable education would be to pursue cheaper tuitions at other schools. UCs could potentially lose students to other schools due to their rising expenses and decreasing financial aid. In fact, first–year Cook is planning to leave UCSC next year.

“I’m going to a CSU next year because the tuition there is half of the tuition at a UC,” Cook said.

At least one statewide organization is currently working to solve this problem.

The California Public Interest Research Group [CALPIRG] employs professionals that directly lobby state officials to negotiate the amount of money that goes into education. At UCSC, CALPIRG raises money by encouraging students to add a $5 expense to their tuition each quarter to contribute to financial aid reserves.

“[CALPIRG] will be working to show broad face support for a reinvestment in higher education and to stop the Pell Grant cuts this year,” said UCSC alumna and CALPIRG campus organizer Katie Roper after learning of the Pell Grant cutback.

Roper also said that CALPIRG has a plan for the new year that involves calling UC students to action. With a student board of eight people from different UCs, it plans to fight for higher education by getting its concerns publicized by the media.

“Studies have shown that Californians are apathetic to the degradation of higher education,” Roper said. “But the UC system helps boost the economy.”

UCOP recently stated that it “fully expects Congress to sustain level funding for Federal Pell Grants for 2011–2012.”

Illustration by Maggie McManus.

The United States Student Association (USSA) is urging collegiates nationwide to contact their local senators and fight for student aid reform legislation in a week they have entitled “Raising Pell.”

The members of the USSA have strategically decided to go into action the week before the ballot goes out to raise awareness to politicians about the need for student aid reform. As the state of California has been reevaluating their funding for higher education and the way students are granted financial aid, this week of action has become particularly important to students on UC campuses.

“Pell” refers to the recent increases in Pell Grants from $4,731 to $5,350 this year under the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA). The act is intended to help college students afford the cost of their post-secondary educations.

Some of the improvements listed in the SAFRA bill include increasing Pell Grants annually from $5,550 in the year 2010 to $6,900 in 2019, simplifying the FAFSA form and investing $2.55 billion in historically black and minority colleges.

Currently, 4,785 UC Santa Cruz students receive aid from the Pell Grant — about 27 percent of the total students enrolled. Full-time students can receive anywhere from $976 to $5,350 annually through the grant.

Monique Teal, the national field director for USSA in Washington D.C., is impressed with the power she has witnessed coming from students, as many are contacting their local politicians.

“The students did a really amazing job of encouraging the House of Representatives to pass the SAFRA bill in the past,” Teal said. “I believe the September 17 bill was really historical in the way that it was written and the type of investment that it gave students to help their secondary education.”

For the bill to be finalized, students have to come together to work on getting the bill through the Senate. They have developed key points that will be reflected in the legislation that is set to appear on the ballot on Oct. 15.

“Because of the way their system works we need the Senate to pass the bill as well and they haven’t done that yet,” Teal said. “As of now the bill hasn’t even been written, so our tactic is to go out and use the same method [of contacting local politicians] to encourage the Senate and really show that they have students that are affected by this issue and really want to see it passed.”

During the week of action in Massachusetts, Sen. John Kerry told the students calling in that he was undecided about whether or not he was going to support a student version of SAFRA. After a few hours, he then asked the members of USSA to stop calling because he made up his mind that he supported the bill.

In Santa Cruz, Tommy Lee, the local member of the USSA board of directors, has been doing his part to help during “Raising Pell” week by calling and faxing the district and federal offices. Lee says he understands the hardships that come with trying to get financial aid.

“The money from the federal government allows students to focus on their academics and not have to worry about the trouble of paying off their student loans and that’s something that I want to strongly support,” Lee said.

This bill has become especially important in California because more students are trying to find financial aid in a state that is experiencing a severe cut to its education budget.

“Over the phone I have tried contacting the financial aid office and it took 10 days for them to call me back,” Lee said. “They have a lack of services because they have an overwhelming amount of people trying to call the office, and this is not just in Santa Cruz, this is happening more and more in campuses in California.”

Ann Draper, the director of the financial aid office at UCSC, has been seeing more applicants for financial aid this year because of the state of California’s economy.

“We are seeing more people with need for financial aid because of the economy but that doesn’t mean financial aid is harder to get,” Draper said. “Because the fees went up for UCs and the Pell Grant went up, we are getting more grant money to help support students that doesn’t have to be repaid.”

Even in economic hardships, the students involved in “Raising Pell” have proven that financial aid is still possible.

Teal is proud of the way the students are fighting for their right to financial aid and for affordable education all across the country.

“It’s inspiring to see the work students are able to do and to be connected to a really long tradition of students organizing and students demanding better from politicians and really driving the social conscious of the country,” Teal said. “I really enjoy being part of that movement and inspiring the next generation of folks who will be doing this as well.”