There are more than 5,000 students on the Carbondale campus who could lose the Monetary Awards Program grant in the spring.

Two of those students are Carina Beck and Laura Ziller.

Beck, a senior from Scottville studying university studies, said she was concerned when she heard the MAP grant was cut.

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‘Not necessarily for myself, but I also have friends who depend on the MAP grant,’ Beck said. ‘I remember, right after seeing that on the news, calling several of my friends and asking them what they were going to do if there’s no MAP.’

Beck said she would take out more student loans and take on a smaller class load if the grant is not reinstated, but many of her friends would not be able to continue their education.

Ziller, a senior from Woodstock studying elementary education, said the financial aid office told her to wait until November to see if the grant is reinstated, and if it is not, to come back and see if she could qualify for student loans.

‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to get that because I’ve heard that they’re a lot pickier about who they give that out to, now that the economy’s bad,’ Ziller said.

Ziller said she is determined to graduate because she would be the first person in her family to receive a college degree.

Beck said she would attend Thursday’s rally in Springfield to convince legislators to reverse their decision and restore funding to the grant.

‘My overall message to legislators is that by not funding the MAP grant, they really are giving up on 138,000 people in Illinois,’ Beck said.

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Interim Provost Don Rice said his office would provide written excuses for students to miss class Thursday and attend the rally.

‘We have distributed to administrators our endorsement of students going to Springfield,’ Rice said.

Ziller said if the grant is not restored, and she is not able to secure a loan, she would be determined to find another way to stay in school.

‘I don’t know exactly how I would do that or pay for it, because my parents aren’t helping me out with school or anything like that,’ Ziller said. ‘And they encourage you not to work while you’re student-teaching, but I would (pay for school) somehow.’

Ziller said she would student-teach next semester, so she would not be able to work to make money and pay for college.

Beck said if the grant is not restored, the state would be saying students from middle- and low-income families do not deserve to receive a college education.

‘They would be saying higher education is simply for the elite few that can afford to go to school, and the rest of us aren’t worth it,’ Beck said.

Stile Smith can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 259 or [email protected]