When the Illinois General Assembly cut MAP grant funding in July, 138,000 students who rely on the funding found themselves the victims of a broken promise.

Now, three months later, the MAP grants have been restored. The Illinois House and Senate voted to allocate $205 million toward the program and it is much appreciated.

The thanks, however, should go out to those students who made sure those politicians heard their voice.

Congratulations to those who wrote their state representatives, to those who protested the funding cuts, and to those numerous students who made the trip to lobby for funding in Springfield.

Mission accomplished.

These noise-makers should be proud for refuting those who doubted the potential of student involvement. Do not become complacent, though. With an $11 billion state deficit, your involvement is necessary to make sure things keep moving in a positive direction.

Get active and push for lucrative legislation and start campaigns to help get donations toward these funds. Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed increase on cigarette taxes and an Amnesty Tax Bill are just a couple of ideas already in place to support this $205 million budget.

Whatever you find appropriate, your work as actively involved students is hardly done. The first step has been conquered, but do not forget to follow up like a lot of progressive movements seem to comfortably do.

Your voices have been heard. Democracy can work, but it is a perpetual effort, and continuing to put pressure on your representatives remains necessary.

All comments are moderated before being published. We will not edit your comments, but we also will not approve those that are abusive, off-topic, attack another poster or contain information we know to be libelous or false.

During peak weekday viewing times, most comments will be reviewed within six hours. For more detailed information, click here.

After submitting your comment, check below for a confirmation message.

• Your name:
• Enter text from image:
  

• Your comment:

* 300-character count. HTML formatting will not display.