137,000 students rely on MAP funding in the state of Illinois.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, MAP (Monetary Award Program) funding is on the chopping block starting this spring, and students are going to be affected negatively. 137,000 students will be affected and 137,000 students have the chance to let the Illinois government know how they feel.

137,000 students can write to lawmakers to say exactly how the MAP cuts will affect their education. 137,000 families can also contact the legislators to say how their child, grandchild, niece, nephew, brother or sister must scramble to find tuition money for the spring semester.

Don’t think you’re directly affected by MAP cuts? Think again. Budget cuts resonate more than we often realize, and the decisions that are made in Springfield should be made after hearing input from Illinois residents.

The professors and faculty members at Illinois state schools should write to the lawmakers to explain how campuses will see fewer students this spring.

College students who don’t rely on MAP funding should write to explain how their friends, roommates and classmates are going to have to stay home next semester because they can’t afford to come back to college.

Residents of so-called ‘college towns’ should write to lawmakers and explain how the local economy will be affected by fewer students patronizing their downtown areas.

Illinois residents who have young children or think they might in the future should write to the lawmakers and explain that, if MAP is cut now, when their children are ready for college they might not be able to attend the school they want because there isn’t enough state funding.

NIU President John Peters met with Gov. Pat Quinn in early September to emphasize the necessity of MAP funding for Illinois college students. Because of the prominence of his position, Peters was able to meet personally with the governor and use the time to specifically outline problems with losing MAP funds.

Unfortunately, all the students, parents, DeKalb citizens and NIU faculty members to be potentially affected by MAP cuts can’t meet personally with Quinn. What they can do, however, is contact state lawmakers to let them know exactly how the cut is affecting their constituents.

Losing MAP funding, which NIU and other state schools are in danger of, is a concern not just for students but for everyone affected by the university. An issue that so extensively affects the future of education in the state of Illinois should be addressed by residents, and the 137,000 students who will be directly affected should be the first to pick up their pens.

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