In Your Opinion

Bush didn't cut Pell Grant funding

Pell Grant funding has not been cut, as claimed in a Viewpoints article Aug. 21, 2003. As a graduate of the USC School of Law, I am proud to report that, to the contrary, President George W. Bush requested nearly $2 billion in additional funding for Pell Grants for 2004, and in July the House approved a bill to increase funding to $12.3 billion - the highest level in history. However, some groups are using scare tactics to confuse families and students about the Republican pro-education agenda. This is a shame because educating our children and assisting with the high cost of college should not be a partisan issue. The Department of Education is required under the Higher Education Act to update specific tax tables used in calculating need for federal aid by June 1 of this year. This updating requirement was passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress in 1992, led by Senator Kennedy who now criticizes the Department for complying with the law he helped draft. Sadly, these false accusations have been lobbed at Bush's administration to score political points and only serve - if taken seriously - to discourage families and students from seeking financial aid for which they would likely qualify. As a member of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am committed to finding ways to increase access to higher education for all qualified students. Personally, I authored a recently passed bill that increases student loan forgiveness for teachers in math, science and special education who teach in disadvantaged school districts. I would also like to remind students that incurring debt for a college education is likely the best investment they can make. During his career, a person with a college degree will earn more than $1 million more than someone without a degree. I believe education is the greatest enabler and equalizer in our society, and, along with Bush, I am committed to making college available to all South Carolina students.

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson S.C. Republican Congressman

Amazon.com saves students money This letter is in response or in addition to "Students look to online book stores to lower expenses." I personally have spent over $250 on books this semester, and that isn't even all of them. I can't believe for a second that bookstores only make a few cents on each book. They buy back books for nothing and sell them for ridiculous prices. My solution is to go to Amazon.com! The books at Amazon are always less than the bookstores. Plus, you can also sell them at the end of the semester. There are book dealers that sell there, but so do other students. It gives us a chance to at least break even on our books. Don't sell back to the bookstores - use Amazon.com.

Melanie Verona third-year hospitality and tourism management student

Students will stay on greener campus

As an out-of-state student and a person lacking a car, I can't feel the slightest twinge of remorse at sacred parking space being destroyed for park or greenery. It's slightly irritating to find one's dorm emptied out on the weekends because everyone is going home an hour away. If anything, the lack of parking space will discourage students from bringing cars here, encourage them to stop running back home when they feel like it and, instead, actually start to really live at college as opposed to just attending classes here.

Sean Siberio first-year international business student