[Oasfaa] FW: Graduate Students Escaped Tax Increases, but They Still Feel a Target on Their Backs

Wed Dec 20 13:43:25 CST 2017

Without starting a lot of political commentary, I want to share this email thread with you all to give you some food for thought. While the thread itself is in response to a graduate student-specific article, I believe the tenor of the article speaks to all of higher education. Regardless of where you identify on the political spectrum, I believe higher education is a greater political target now than ever before. The funding programs that directly impact our students, that many of our students heavily depend upon, are being adversely affected due to policy and budget decisions that are often based upon flawed logic (or none at all, opinions will vary), poor or skewed data, or assumptions not based in fact.

Our legislators need to be reminded how extremely valuable higher education is to a successful civilization. Education changes lives - that of the student, the immediate family, and in most cases, the family for generations to come. Is the system flawed and need of improvement? Absolutely. Should the students suffer the brunt of ill-thought out policy? They should absolutely not.

The proposal below was part of the tax bill currently awaiting Presidential signature and was not included in the final version. However this, and many other provisions that have passed in recent years that have chipped away at funding and eligibility highlights the fact that we, as financial aid administrators, need to barrage our legislators with our advocacy efforts since a reauthorization bill<https://www.nasfaa.org/house_hea_bill> of the HEA has passed out of the House committee. Reauthorization is way overdue, and while the political climate we currently live in makes it uncertain if and when anything happens out of Congress, we must be prepared. Our legislators need to hear our voices, whether they like what we have to say not, they still need to hear it.

Before reaching out to any federal legislators and/or staffers, talk to your administration. They need to know, if they don't already, how important our advocacy efforts are. However, you want to ensure you are following your institution's protocol in terms of any advocacy work you wish to do.

Senator Jim Inhofe, https://www.inhofe.senate.gov/
Senator James Lankford, https://www.lankford.senate.gov/
Representative Jim Bridenstine, https://bridenstine.house.gov/
Representative Markwayne Mullin, https://mullin.house.gov/
Representative Frank Lucas, https://lucas.house.gov/
Representative Tom Cole, https://cole.house.gov/
Representative Steve Russell, https://russell.house.gov/

Have a safe and blessed break and a very merry Christmas!

Mendy Schmerer, M.Ed.
Director, Office of Student Financial Aid
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
1106 N. Stonewall, Rm 301
Oklahoma City, OK  73117
(405) 271-2118, x 48817 (p)
(405) 271-5446 (f)
Mendy-Schmerer at ouhsc.edu<mailto:Mendy-Schmerer at ouhsc.edu>
http://www.ouhsc.edu/financialservices/SFA/

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From: Graduate Professional Listserv [mailto:GRADPROF-L at LISTSERV.NASFAA.ORG] On Behalf Of David Sheridan
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 8:34 AM
To: GRADPROF-L at LISTSERV.NASFAA.ORG
Subject: Re: Graduate Students Escaped Tax Increases, but They Still Feel a Target on Their Backs

Good morning folks,

Justin is absolutely right...the fake populism that we're seeing in DC and elsewhere has created an environment that is unbelievably hostile towards higher education.  American colleges and universities are widely considered to be the world's finest and most innovative, and have served the country as its most reliable economic incubator.  No country has ever built up its economy and opportunity for its people by diminishing access to higher education, and that's what we're seeing a concerted effort towards.  These tax cuts will leave a hole in the budget that can be used as an excuse for cuts to virtually every domestic spending program you can name, and higher ed is clearly at the top of the list for many so-called budget hawks.

But of course you better believe that these legislators who have put higher ed opportunity in their budget crosshairs will all send their own kids to college.

To answer Justin's perhaps rhetorical question, no, once the target is on students' backs, they're never in the clear.  We have to roll up every sleeve folks, our students deserve no less.  Even if your representatives in DC are 100% on the side of students and you know you can rely on their support for a strong commitment to education, don't let them forget.  Even those who voted for this tax bill are hearing from lots of worried constituents now; make sure that all of them hear about the importance of higher ed and financial aid over and over and over.

As always, my views are my views.  Hope they're lots of others' though.

David Sheridan
Director of Financial Aid
Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
514 West 113th Street
New York, NY 10025
212-854-3822

From: Graduate Professional Listserv [mailto:GRADPROF-L at LISTSERV.NASFAA.ORG] On Behalf Of Sozzo, Anthony
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 8:45 AM
To: GRADPROF-L at LISTSERV.NASFAA.ORG<mailto:GRADPROF-L at LISTSERV.NASFAA.ORG>
Subject: Graduate Students Escaped Tax Increases, but They Still Feel a Target on Their Backs

Posted on the www.nasfaa.org<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nasfaa.org&d=DwMFAg&c=VjzId-SM5S6aVB_cCGQ0d3uo9UfKByQ3sI6Audoy6dY&r=Jq3xh6v4hctMZ8-WfGI7l1KQkk2y_HMT2GFL5zfHaho&m=B3ZRKvOmAVYF0Lig7DqN381TfJ5cTPrudDTTE3urmLQ&s=hbBZXPXAZEuY339JbtiCx065SMiI2o2iOMUC7YMoXBc&e=> website and redistributed with permission.

NASFAA President Justin Draeger is quoted...

"I think there's a general assault on higher education right now," said Justin Draeger, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. "I think it's tied into a dangerous narrative in our country about elitism. It undervalues our most important resource, which is our inventiveness, our ingenuity, our ability to solve big problems. A lot of that work happens at graduate-level education."

Graduate Students Escaped Tax Increases, but They Still Feel a Target on Their Backs<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__nasfaa.informz.net_z_cjUucD9taT03MjE1OTc0JnA9MSZ1PTEwMDY5OTI2MDAmbGk9NTAzMzM1NzU_index.html&d=DwMBaQ&c=A51OX6aSaU1ywwq_3bUC2Q&r=2J2Pj6F1RlfB1wIptYMumQ&m=S4krDGOyxEWYPjiE2WhGO4ZwSymUIkLFW_1uXuznrEY&s=j3B8h_BQzUnQyctXayjNNvF-M1a-tGgJ6NGuow9oqdc&e=>
"Samantha Hernandez was finishing up an argument for her dissertation about Latinos and affirmative action on Thursday when the emails started pouring in with the subject line 'Congratulations,'" The New York Times reports. "President Trump had finished a celebratory news conference to announce the completion of a sweeping overhaul of the nation's tax code, and graduates students were breathing a deep sigh of relief. House Republicans had targeted them for a hefty tax increase, one that many of them could not hope to pay, but they had escaped unscathed. The question now is this: Once lawmakers put a target on your back, are you ever really in the clear?" NASFAA President Justin Draeger is quoted.

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