| UPDATE: It's raining in Lansing, so the rally has been moved to Rm. 115 of the International Center on the MSU campus.
The Michigan Promise is simple: pass the Michigan Merit Exam and the state will give you $4,000 for college (Okay, the requirements of the scholarship are slightly more complicated, but the bottom line is still "Pass the test. Get four thousand bucks to use for school.") I'll happily confess that I'm not the brightest bulb in the drawer, but doesn't it follow that if we give kids a) incentive to pay attention in high school and pass the MME, and b) give them four thousand bucks to use for school, they'll be better-educated and better-prepared to take on the kinds of high technology jobs that are so critical to Michigan's recovery and survival?
Apparently the Republicans in the Michigan Senate don't think so. They killed the Michigan Promise last week. That is, they broke a promise to 96,000 Michigan students counting on that money to be able to finance their education. That high-pitched squeal you heard last week wasn't Leon Drolet's pig--it was 96,000 parents and their kids screaming "OMG what are we going to do now?" and college lenders from all over the state shouting "Cha-CHING!"
Today the MSU College Dems are fighting back. They're going to gather at the Rock on the MSU campus to collectively beat Mike Bishop and the Republican caucus over the head with a clue. You're invited to join them at 10:00AM, rain or shine (and from my seat here in Westcoastville, it's lookin' like rain).
By the way, later this morning the state is expected to release the latest unemployment figures. If these kids were smart (and they are...they earned four thousand bucks by passing a test, for pete's sake), they'd print out copies and hand them out..assuming they can scrounge enough paper and ink to print out all those zeroes.
Keep the promise, Republicans. The kids kept theirs. |
