TOPS. Taylor Opportunity Program for Students. Louisiana's pride and joy (besides Southeastern Louisiana University, of course. Sorry, I had to. #LionUp). T.O.P.S. is the reason we students break our backs and melt our brains down during high school to get a good enough score on the ACT to qualify for these glorious, heaven-sent scholarships. However, on February 11th, 2016, at approximately 3PM, Louisiana's new Governor, John Bel Edwards kicked every college student in the state directly in the face when he announced that the T.O.P.S. scholarship fund had been cut due to the state's budget crisis. If you rely on T.O.P.S. to pay for part, if not most or all, of your tuition, I have listed 11 thoughts you might have had after hearing this news:
1. Aw someone started this rumor to scare us all! That's cute.
Good one, guys.
2. WAIT.
Hold. Up. This ISN'T a joke?
3. Oh my God, this is actually happening
THEY DIDN'T PREPARE US FOR THIS DURING FRESHMAN ORIENTATION. WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?!
4. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS????
I will not finish this sentence because I am sure it is illegal to threaten our government.
5. JOHN BEL EDWARDS. I WILL COME AFTER YOU.
Just kidding. I know this isn't solely your fault. But really, of ALL the things you could've cut.
7. Okay, I'm sure I can figure something out. Let me think logically. How much do strippers make again?
8. Just kidding. But really, I could totally work 3 jobs. And go to school.
9. Who am I kidding, no I can't.
10. Wait... what if this just a scare tactic to get people to actually care about the state's budget crisis?
11. Hey, maybe I SHOULD actually start paying attention to what's going on with the state's budget...
But really, guys. It is SO important that we start paying attention to politics and get ourselves involved in what is going on. Take a look at what Gov. Edwards had to say in his Special Address to The State:
"The Louisiana TOPS scholarship fund is now so depleted that, if the legislature does not raise revenue, fewer high school students will receive awards and current recipients are in jeopardy of losing their existing scholarships for next year.
Even with additional revenue, higher education this year will need to cut $42 million. This will be combined with a $28 million cut in TOPS scholarship funds that the universities will have to absorb, resulting in the largest mid-year cut in Louisiana history. However, if there is no new revenue raised this year, higher education will face catastrophic cuts over the next 4 months. And that comes on the heels of the largest disinvestment in higher education in the nation over the last eight years."
Again, it is SO important that we start paying attention to these things. Our futures are at stake here. Out of ALL of the organizations that could've been cut, they chose the one that 49,710 students rely on. With this number, it's needless to say that most of us rely solely on TOPS and FAFSA to pay for our tuition. Of course, there are loans, if you decide to take that route (here is a good blog post about loans if you're skeptical about them). However, as reported by WWLTV News the very next day, LOSFA will be resuming the TOPS program for "up to 80 percent of students' rewards", while the colleges themselves will have to pay for the remaining 20 percent that the program will not cover. Governor Edwards also released a statement saying "Next year, as it stands, TOPS is only funded 25 percent, unless the legislature acts to change that. This means fewer TOPS scholarships will be awarded next year." So, fear not dear students, not all hope has been lost... Yet. We still have plenty of time for things to pan out. However, this should definitely open our eyes to our futures and the precautionary steps we should take in order to preserve them. Be smart, think ahead, and let's all get a game plan in place just in case TOPS does go bye-bye for good.
