Whereas, the need for increased college access and affordability has been magnified by the

rising unemployment numbers and the current state of our economy, and

Whereas, the average cost of tuition has gone up by 1120%, and four times the rate of inflation, in the past three and a half decades, and

Whereas, students in the U.S. currently graduate with an average of $29,400 in student loan

debt, and

Whereas, the Pell Grant subsidizes higher education for 9.4 million students around the country giving an average award of $3555 and,

Whereas, the Pell Grant covers only 32% of average college costs, compared to the 77% it covered around the time of its inception, and

Whereas, in 2010, 40% of University of California students were eligible for Pell Grants and received $286 million in Pell Grant funds, and

Whereas, recent discusssion on tuition increases for the University of California will further diminish the impact of the Pell Grant to student recipients, and

Whereas, approximately 52.7% of UC Irvine students who applied in 2013 were first generation students, who rely on financial aid and other federal and state support systems for their education, and

Whereas, the United States Student Association, representing over 1.5 million students across the country, had a historical role in the very creation of the Pell Grant,

Whereas, the United States Student Association has close ties to UC Irvine students due to the five USSA Board of Directors who serve as liaisons between the campus, their communities and the organization, and 

Whereas, these Board members represent the National Asian Pacific Islander Student Coalition, the Women of Color caucus, the Working Class Student caucus, the People of Middle Eastern and South Asian Descent caucus, and the International Student caucus, and

Whereas, each of these communities will be greatly impacted by increased Pell Grant funding, and 

Whereas, international students do not recieve any federal aid, and may become eligible for aid such as Pell Grants if the Fund the Future campaign succeeds, and

Whereas, working class students are particularly affected by financial aid cuts to their education, and 

Whereas, the United States Student Association’s Fund the Future campaign is adamantly seeking to strengthen the Pell Grant by increasing the maximum award, creating a stable funding stream, making attainment more flexible, ensuring yearly increases, and extending it to more underserved and middle class families, and

Let it be resolved that ASUCI Legislative Council formally endorses the Fund the Future campaign, and

Let it further be resolved that ASUCI Legislative Council shall join students from around the nation in actively working to encourage the United States Congress to adopt our proposed changes to the Pell Grant program by engaging in (but not limited to) petition collecting, class announcements, campus events, advocacy visits, submission of opinion editorials to campus newspapers, call in days, social media blasts, and more with the USSA Board members from UC Irvine.