Michigan Promise Scholarship in Danger
A state scholarship that helps make college more affordable for Michigan students is at risk of elimination in budget cuts.
But students at Northern Michigan University don’t intend to take it lying down.
They held a rally this morning to protest the proposed elimination of the Michigan Promise Scholarship.
NMU College Republicans and College Democrats came across the aisle to support it.
The school’s student government got Marquette State Rep Steve Lindberg to attend and listen.
ASNMU President Jason Morgan says that spirit of cooperation came about because it’s not a Democratic or Republican issue — he says it’s a Michigan issue that all in-state college students need to be aware of and speak up about.
2007 high school grads were the first ones in Michigan to get the $4,000 scholarship.
Morgan received the scholarship himself.
And he says the chance it might be eliminated before he’s done at NMU worries him.
Some of the state budget proposals that have been floated for this fall would eliminate the program.
Morgan says if that happens, students will have a harder time going to college, either racking up a lot more debt or having to drop out entirely.
About 1200 NMU students are on the Michigan Promise scholarship.