Three members of the Virginia House of Delegates, Rob Krupicka Jr., D-Alexandria, Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington-Fairfax, and Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, wrote a letter to Board of Visitors Rector George Martin on Oct. 9 to object to cuts to AccessUVa.
The Board voted in August to end AccessUVa’s all-grant financial aid to students, replacing portions of that financial aid with subsidized loans.
In their letter, delegates advise the Board to reconsider its decision to include loans in every financial aid package due to the unfair burden it may place on low-income students.
“Such a debt load will almost certainly deter some deserving students from attending U.Va. or making it to graduation day; for others it will limit the options available to them upon graduation” the letter reads.
Stephanie Montenegro, fourth-year College student and AccessUVa financial aid recipient, echoed the delegates’ concerns, emphasizing the impact the change could have on Virginia’s low-income youth.
“[Without AccessUVa,] I would not be in college at all,” Montenegro said. “I was looking into the Marines, the Air Force; I was ready to go that way … AccessUVa was an opportunity to better myself, my family, [and] my community.”
“I Am Not a Loan,” a national campaign of students, parents and graduates across the nation focused on reducing student debt, has gained ground at the University since August and has become the mouthpiece for the petition to restore AccessUVa’s former policies.
More than 8,600 people have signed the petition to reinstate all-grant aid to low-income students, and leaders of the organization have met with several University administrators to voice their concerns.
The organizations aims to make the issue salient for the student body, even those who are not directly affected by the change, said Hajar Ahmed, fourth-year College student and participant in “I Am Not a Loan” effort.
Krupicka said he believes the preservation of AccessUVa is important for the University and students, saying it helps low-income students graduate which ultimately benefits their families and the state as a whole. He also acknowledged, however, that the financial difficulties the University faces are important.
“I certainly support more state funding and the creation of a state program to help students in other colleges around the commonwealth,” Krupicka said.
The changes to the financial aid program are expected to save the University $6 million per year once they take effect with next year’s entering class. But the University’s finances are fully capable of covering the program’s costs, said Mary Nguyen Barry, a 2010 alumna of the University and one of the first advocates for the “I Am Not a Loan” campaign on Grounds.
“The portion of the program they are trying to cut from low-income students is … less than 0.5 percent of the entire [annual] budget,” Barry said. “The Board of Visitors simply isn’t making low-income students a priority.”
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