Students at Pierce College deserve more access to financial aid assistance, not less, and opening the Financial Aid office on weekends would make it much easier for working students who are struggling to achieve their academic goals to get the assistance they need.
There are so many obstacles to education for those who are struggling financially, anything that can be done to ease the transition into college and help those students would help them achieve their academic goals.
Education is absolutely necessary and effective at helping raise people out of poverty. According to Borgen Magazine, the benefits of education combating poverty are eightfold: Education raises literacy, increases income, helps reduce instability and corruption in communities, promotes healthier lives, empowers females, increases food security and nutrition, develops technical skills and boosts economic growth.
People attend Pierce College from all walks of life, from those who come from low-income families to working parents, to those who want to develop skills that will increase their pay, to those straight out of high school who want empower themselves early by finding a career path. College students are increasingly in need of financial support, especially as the cost of living in Los Angeles rises.
According to U.S. News and World Report, 58 percent of undergraduate students at Los Angeles Pierce College receive some form of financial aid support. Any argument that opening the Financial Aid office on weekends would be too costly and raise the budget would have to ignore the needs of financial assistance toward educating those who can’t afford the high cost of education, as well as the benefits of educating impoverished communities in the economic growth of the country.
Clearly, the benefits outweigh the costs. Higher education levels the playing field and promotes economic stability. Working class people need access to assistance on the weekends because many of them work full-time jobs and have difficulty taking time off from work in order to begin the uphill climb of going back to school and continuing their education.
It’s difficult enough for working students to find the time to take classes. Many students are commuting long distances from all across the greater Los Angeles area. Working students are often struggling with transportation as well, taking buses and driving through the nightmare of LA crosstown traffic.
Every hurdle in the way of education for people who are struggling financially is a form of systematic suppression. The future of this country is shaped by the working and middle class and by providing more access to education, we ensure that the American dream of upward mobility is accessible to everyone. In short, we need to ease access to education and financial assistance for those who need it most, however possible.
