I must stress that this article is not written to attack any particular political party, but I believe elected officials should be held accountable to their constituents; furthermore, I believe education produces good economics that benefit our blessed, great nation.

Education is a right, not a privi-lege. As a student who has benefited from education, I am obligated to protect and fight for the fundamental principles of education that serve today’s students.

The Contract with America has the potential to affect education in three different ways. First, elimi-nation of the need-based Stafford loan subsidy would clearly mean that the federal government stops paying the interest on loans while the student is in school. This cut would result in a 20 to 40-percent increase in student liability.

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Second, the elimination of cam-pus-based aid programs would dev-astate students with exceptional need who rely on financial assis-tance as a means of attaining a high-er education. Presently, 70 percent of federal work-study and federal supplemental educational opportu-nity funds are generally awarded to high-risk students with family in-comes of $24,000 or less.

Third, the Pell Grant programs, the cornerstone of federal financial aid programs, which covered 21 percent of the average cost of a stu-dent’s education in the fiscal year of 1994, may be drastically reduced. The maximum Pell Grant award must be above $2,500 at a min-imum for students to be eligible for child care or disability-related ex-penses.

I urge students to contact their federal congressional leaders in order to express their concerns on reduced federal financial aid. Sena-tor Paul Simon can be contacted at 462 Dirksen Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. Senator Carol Mosely-Braun can be located at 708 Hart Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. Representative Jerry F. Costello can be reached at 119 Cannon HOB, Washington, D.C. 20515.

USG Student Welfare Commis-sioner