So just a few weeks ago Saint Xavier University sent an email about our current situation with the State of Illinois and their budget for 2016. Without this budget there is no Monetary Awards Program (MAP) funding.
In case some of you do not know what this is— which you should— this is part of the financial aid we receive to help pay for college. According to the e-mail sent out by SXU, over 1500 of us depend on this MAP funding.
Oh, and yes SXU did send out a mass e-mail to all of their students with the subject line reading “MAP Funding.” However, nearly every person I attempted to talk to had no idea what I was talking about.
I was shocked that nobody I knew had even read the e-mail. I think it’s pretty ridiculous that the e-mail was seen but never opened and read. This is some important stuff. This is something that can determine if college will be affordable for over 1,500 students.
These are the kind of issues and topics that need to be payed attention to. I had just spoken about this exact thing with one of my friends from back home and we both began to realize how out of the loop a majority of our generation is.
As college students you would think that our intelligence of the modern world and what is occurring today should be sharper. That is not the case. The thing is that we’re so busy and wrapped up in our own lives that we can’t even comprehend trying worry about any other issues.
Besides dedicating most of our days to sleeping and academics, what we choose to do with our free time is not all that interesting. I’m not so innocent either. On my free time I watch shows and movies on Netflix, go out to eat, go on social media, or go to the movies.
I’m really not all that interesting if you can tell. I could probably be doing more productive things on my free time. I never really thought about how much of an issue this was until the MAP grant discussion came out.
Even before this mass e-mail SXU sent out, there was even announcements made about sending students to Springfield for the MAP rally the week before. The nunmber of students that went does not compare to the amount of students that recieve the Illinois MAP funding as part of their financial aid.
This also shows the number of students that actually understand what the issue is and they are willing to fight for their MAP funding. Now that you know exactly what the issue is, do you wish you went to the MAP rally in Springfield? I know I do.
This just shows that we don’t pay attention and to be honest I don’t think a lot of us do care if it doesn’t affect us personally. The world does not revolve around just us. There is so much going on in the world that needs our desperate attention and help and instead we’re sitting on our butts watching TV.
Even when these issues do affect us, it does not get enough attention. I don’t even know that many people my age who even watch the news or read the newspapers we get at home. I usually find my news on Facebook, and even then it’s not all that reliable.
So, if you still haven’t heard about the current situation with our MAP funding, I suggest you read up on that. This is important. There is so many things in life that are more important. I have challenged myself to read up on current worldwide, national, and local issues.
We are the future of society and I don’t think we want to live in a world where nobody cares.
Susy Macias
Senior Viewpoints Editor