BY VALERIE ORLEANS
From Dateline (May 6, 2004)
Proposed Cuts To EOP: What That Means
“For over 30 years, the Educational
Opportunity Program has helped ‘level the playing field,’”
said Silas Abrego, associate vice president for student affairs.
“Some students, particularly those from low-income families
or those who may be the first in their families to attend college,
frequently don’t have the same advantages when it comes to
education.”
Now EOP is threatened. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
has targeted it and other outreach programs for elimination while
attempting to balance the state’s budget.
“What the governor proposes is the complete
elimination of EOP programs,” said Abrego. “What that
means is that academic prep-aration for high school students would
be cut. It would eliminate the Summer Bridge program, MESA [a program
to assist educationally disadvantaged students pursue studies in
engineering] and early assessment programs [where university staff
members visit high schools to access students’ college readiness
and suggest areas for improvement]. It would eliminate or reduce
sources of financial aid. Cutting EOP would, in effect, break the
promise of the Master Plan for Higher Education.”
In 1960, the California Board of Regents and the
State Board of Education adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education
to ensure that a college education would be accessible and affordable
to all. However, as the plan was put into operation, it became apparent
that the dream of providing a college education for all would need
some assistance. So in 1969, EOP was founded. It exists to improve
access for and retention of low-income and educationally disadvantaged
students.
EOP’s value both to individuals and the state
as a whole was underscored in remarks made last Thursday by Gus
Chavez, retired San Diego State EOP director. He spoke to a campus
audience in the Pollak Library and also at the April 29 student
rally that attracted hun-dreds to the Quad to protest the governor’s
proposed cuts to the CSU budget.
“Saving EOP means sav-ing California,”
he said to those assembled for the rally. “We are the future
of California.... Let your local legislators know not to cut EOP.”
According to Abrego, EOP students are unfamiliar
with the admissions process, they don’t know what classes
to take in high school to meet university requirements, how to prepare
for more grueling college classes or how to apply for financial
aid.
“That’s where EOP can help,” he
added. “We reach out to these students and help them navigate
their way through the system.”
At Fullerton, 2,000 students are utilizing EOP services
and programs, according to Jeremiah W. Moore, director of student
academic services, which oversees EOP on campus.
“EOP adds a great deal of value to this university
by creating a more diverse student body and integrating new college
students,” said President Milton A. Gordon. “EOP has
always been integral to Cal State Fullerton. Losing a program like
this would not only be devastating to the students involved, but
to all students on campus.”
“What EOP does is help people come out of poverty,”
noted Donald S. Castro, special assistant to the president. “Education
has historically been a way for low-income students to develop the
skills needed to rise out of poverty. Today, a college education
is more critical than ever. By dismantling programs like EOP, we
often cut off the only avenue these individuals have to gain access
to a university. If you take away EOP, you take away hope.”
The CSU doesn’t want to take away that hope.
“We will be seeking flexibility in the areas
the governor has suggested we cut,” stated Richard P. West,
CSU executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer, in January
soon after the governor’s budget was announced. “We
would like the ability to take the cuts where they would least hurt
students and the quality education the CSU provides.”
Noted Chavez: “We want to ensure that programs
that do so much for those less fortunate aren’t eliminated.
Since the EOP’s inception, we have helped over 250,000 students
graduate from CSU schools. In turn, these same students go on to
pursue jobs that help drive the state’s economy. But, if the
governor has his way, that assistance could disappear.”
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