Student body president Trent White said Monday that Mercer's Student Government Association plans to fight the recently renewed push from state legislators to do away with the Georgia Tuition Equalization Grant, a scholarship that helps subsidize tuition costs at in-state private universities like Mercer.
White called on students to contact their local legislators to express support of keeping GTEG funding in place for the coming fiscal year. He also tasked senators with the job of making sure their fellow students are aware they may lose some of their scholarship money if the grant gets axed.
Senior senator Brittany Francis will head up SGA's initiative to save the grant. Francis said she'll use SGA's resources to raise student awareness on the issue.
Record state budget shortfalls have put GTEG funding under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks from Georgia legislators, many of whom view cutting the grant as a potential austerity measure that could save the state millions. Backers of the grant say trimming higher education scholarships should be avoided at all costs.
Also during Monday's senate meeting,
- SGA fiscal affairs chair Khoi Le said 16 student organizations have yet to claim their Bear Grant checks allocated last fall. Le said that if organizations do not pick up their money before the April deadline, it will reflect poorly on them as well as SGA.
- SGA is working with Mercer's information technology department to create a voting app for mobile phone and iPad use. A representative will demonstrate the app at next week's senate meeting.
For more on this story, read next week's edition of The Cluster, and check back in at mercercluster.com for updates.
