By now most Louisiana college students are aware of the imposing threat on the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students or TOPS. This program, which pays for a specific amount of tuition for students who achieve a certain level of academic success in high school, may soon be canceled altogether. Right now, the budget deficit in this state has become its worst which may mean that students will suffer greatly. This past week, the Louisiana governor stated that more cuts will be made to offset this problem. As a result of the cuts made in education, LOFSA, Louisiana Office of Financial Student Assistance, stated that they would not reimburse tuition costs to Louisiana universities. However, they then decided that they would pay a portion of the tuition in the states but that each university would be responsible for paying at least twenty percent of the tuition for the semester. There has been no word yet on the future of TOPS after the spring 2016 semester.
As a college student in Louisiana, I have something to say to our state legislature on this issue. You simply can’t take away TOPS. The recipients of TOPS all have the same story: we worked hard in high school with the knowledge that we would be rewarded for the effort of pursing a higher education. Many of us can’t afford college without this scholarship. For me, college was only a dream before TOPS made it a reality. In the last week, I have heard many more people say the same. If you take this away then I promise you will see either a massive drop in college enrollment or a huge increase in the amount of student debt. This will be because we will be forced to decide whether or not to end our pursuit of a degree or spend the rest of our lives paying off student loans. You may not understand my reasoning because the truth is that you are not a college student who is struggling to make a better life. Please change your perspective and try to see the world through our eyes. The very thought of losing TOPS destroys all hope for us. As if we aren’t already stressed out enough. You will see a decline in grades because students will be forced to work full-time jobs to try and pay for school which will leave little time for studying. Fewer students will join clubs and organizations that bring help to the community and nation by raising money because we simply won't have the time to be a part of it. If you think our economy is bad right now just wait and see what happens when you take away TOPS. Students are the future of this state and country. We deserve TOPS. I’m not asking for handouts, but I am asking that you honor your promise to the students who earned their tuition. You can’t take away what you have already given us.
The budget is definitely a huge issue for our state right now. But taking away the TOPS program is not the answer. There are so many alternatives that would not punish those who have earned what they are given. Instead, try managing welfare better. If you just make drug tests mandatory then you would see a significant decline in the number of people who qualify. Put stricter requirements on unemployment so that people will be more motivated to work. If you have to stop the TOPS program then make this year’s high school freshmen the last students who are eligible to earn it. Taking TOPS away right now is not the solution. If you want to take drastic measures then how about lowering your own salaries. Before you speak on changing the lives of others, make sure it’s what the majority wants. But I can assure you that no college student with TOPS can see how taking away their scholarships is a good idea. Doing so would devastate us.
Louisiana residents please contact your senators. We have to get the word out that we won’t sit by and let them take away TOPS. This is the link with all of our senators and their contact information, http://senate.legis.state.la.us/senators/Offices.asp. This is such an important issue and we have to put the effort forth.
Here are several useful links for more information on this issue:
TOPS funding halted as state deals with budget crisis
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/tops_funding_stops.html
Questions and Answers on TOPS
http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/2016/02/12/how-tops-works/80288592/
TOPS funding shortfall: 5 things you should know
