Whitehouse Meets With URI Students To Discuss Pell Grants

With House Republicans looking to make significant cuts to the Pell Grant program, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has come out to to defend and keep the program alive. 

As a part of the resolution, Whitehouse met with students Friday afternoon to hear how important the grants have been to their higher education.

“Statistics are just numbers and can be easily looked over, but stories count for a lot and I want to be able to absorb as many stories as possible and bring them back to share with those who want to get rid of the program,” Whitehouse said. “This threat to the Pell Grants is very real. The House of Representatives is trying to cut the grants by $1,800 already."

Whitehouse told students that even though the Pell Grants might not be the deciding factor between attending and not attending college, they help lesson the debt that students leave college with.

“So far in our country, there is about a trillion dollars of student loan debt,” Whitehouse said.

He told students how proud he was of his association with URI and how he wasn’t there to talk but rather to listen instead.

First to speak up was Amber Scoufos, a mother of two who goes to URI full-time and works full-time. Scoufos said that she is already tight on money and knows that she couldn’t make it work financially if she didn’t have the Pell grants.

“If anything, we need more funding for higher education,” Scoufos said.

Roxanne Gomes, the director of URI’s Office of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Diversity, told Whitehouse that she would never have the position that she does were it not for the Pell Grants she received while pursuing her degree at Rhode Island College.

“My parents only went to school until eighth grade, but because of the money I received, I was able to get a college degree,” Gomes said. “I could not sit here today without letting you know that I am a product of a Pell grant.”

Riley Davis, a triple major at URI, holds down four jobs while also finishing up her college education.

“I receive no financial support from my family for college so I have to pay for my schooling all on my own and that would not be possible without these grants,” Davis said.

Crystal Islam is the youngest of four children and the only one who will graduate from college.

“I’m paying for a lot of my education with money that I saved up from working over the summer,” Islam said. “I’m beating the statistics, beating the odds by graduating from college. I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about finishing because I was receiving so much financial aid but now I’m not sure.”

Frank Forleo, the assistant director of admissions for URI’s Talent Development program, told the audience that there were 1,300 students currently in the program and all of those students rely entirely on their financial aid to get them through college.

“The Pell Grant is a cornerstone of the Talent Development student’s financial aid package,” Forleo said. “Without the Pell Grants, our students could not go on receiving an education here.”

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald DeHayes offered to send any kind of financial reports to help in any way possible.

“$14 million to $15 million is dispersed to URI students through Pell Grants,” DeHayes said. “Financial aid is the fastest growing part of URI’s budget right now.”