Bradley students gathered in the Michel Student Center Tuesday, where they would depart for Springfield to join the rally supporting MAP grant funding and reaching out to state legislators.
The 13 students attended the rally with posters supporting funding for MAP grants. The Monetary Award Program (MAP) has been providing financial aid to Illinois college students for 50 years, but budget funding for the 2015-16 Illinois MAP award is currently being delayed because Illinois hasn’t had a state budget since July 1.
Lupe Flores, a senior nursing major and recipient of MAP grant funds, said she heard about the rally from an email from Student Body President Sarah Handler. According to Flores, the event was a learning experience.
“It was very eye-opening to see how other schools were impacted as much as ours was, and I just learned a lot more about the whole process, about how Bradley will cover the MAP grant [funds],” Flores said. “Since it wasn’t funded they pretty much loaned it to [students]. I know other schools like Loyola, the University of Chicago, they weren’t letting their students come back to school because they didn’t have that money.”
Flores said she and other students helped walk Bill 2043, which would provide funding for the MAP grants, to Rauner’s office.
Another Bradley student who attended, senior global supply chain management major Dashawn Cason, said he went to the rally mainly because it affects him as a student and as a recipient of the MAP grant.
“This is not my first time advocating for MAP grant funding,” Cason said. “[The] first time was a number of years ago … I am a first generation college student, and I’m also a recipient of MAP grant funding, and I just know first hand, obviously, we all know … the value of having money to cover your education, it alleviates a lot of stress when you don’t have to be as focused on the finances. You can refocus yourself on the books, which is why we’re here.”
Flores also said she thinks the funding is important.
“I come from a home with a single parent,” Flores said. “It’s just my dad and my five siblings, so obviously that money does mean a lot to all of us [by] being able to not only better myself but better the status of my family. So, that money has really helped us in that way.”
Flores said while Democrats and Republicans had different opinions, they generally had the same points.
“All the legislators we met were on board,” Cason said. “Thankfully so; it’s a sensible thing to fund higher education, especially when we are the future leaders, not just of the state, but the nation.”
There is still a major opponent to funding MAP grants: Illinois governor Bruce Rauner.
Tuesday, Rauner said he would veto the bill for MAP grant funding. Further, during his annual budget speech Wednesday Feb. 17, he made no reference to the funding for the MAP grant.
“It is just a struggle, it’s a larger political struggle they’re dealing with,” Cason said. “Yeah, I’m upset about that, outraged, primarily because there are students around the state of Illinois who haven’t been able to continue their education because of this eight month plus struggle.”
