Justice: A Poem by Langston Hughes

February was Black History month celebrated in the United States and Canada.

As a final tribute, I thought I would share a poem from one of my favorite poets: Langston Hughes.

Justice

That justice is a blind goddess
Is a thing to which we black are wise:
Her bandage hides two festering sores
That once perhaps were eyes.


Mr. Hughes died in 1967. My guess is that if Mr. Hughes were alive today, he would not be bashful about what he would perceive as the injustice of a legal system in which so many young minority men are incarcerated, often for lack of adequate legal assistance.

More information about Mr. Hughes can be found at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes

Expelled Students in Southern Berrien County Given a Chance at Fresh Start

"For students who have found themselves caught up in trouble and expelled from the classroom, a program called Fresh Start has been helping those kids start over.

In fact, the program has been helping students from many area schools, including Niles, Brandywine, Buchanan and even Berrien Springs for 15 years and Friday (February 26) an open house will be held for interested parents and students who want to get a second chance at their education."

The full story may be found in the Niles Daily Star at:

www.nilesstar.com/2010/02/25/an-open-house-for-a-fresh-start/

Holding on by a Thread: What Happens When the Manufacturing Jobs Vanish?

In today's Detroit News is a story about folks working in a machine shop near Detroit. It is a story about the workers at one manufacturer who are struggling. This dramatic quote is from the article which tells a story of the new working poor in Michigan:

"You feel the whole thing's a swindle," says Cindi Borbi, the 59-year-old account manager behind a desk behind a cloud of cigarette smoke. Her husband took his life last year after being let go from his auto supply firm. He left his wife a broken heart, a mound of debt and a house she can't pay for. "I'm looking for a basement if you've got one."

www.detnews.com/article/20100225/METRO08/2250419/LeDuff--Blue-collar-workers-hanging-on-by-thread#ixzz0gXmM2mRM

Millions of Unemployed Face Years Without Jobs

An article from the New York Times discussed the growth of "new poor" in America. These new poor are not recipients of generational poverty (People whose parents and grandparents passed down poverty conditions), but those who recently lost their jobs and cannot find suitable employment in the economic recession.

Economists fear that the nascent recovery will leave more people behind than in past recessions, failing to create jobs in sufficient numbers to absorb the record-setting ranks of the long-term unemployed.

Call them the new poor: people long accustomed to the comforts of middle-class life who are now relying on public assistance for the first time in their lives — potentially for years to come.

Yet the social safety net is already showing severe strains. Roughly 2.7 million jobless people will lose their unemployment check before the end of April unless Congress approves the Obama administration’s proposal to extend the payments, according to the Labor Department.

This is why the timing is as important as ever to focus on poverty reduction in hand with economic growth and job creation. Improving and expanding educational initiatives could be a key factor in the upcoming years:

Some labor experts say the basic functioning of the American economy has changed in ways that make jobs scarce — particularly for older, less-educated people like Ms. Eisen, who has only a high school diploma.

Large companies are increasingly owned by institutional investors who crave swift profits, a feat often achieved by cutting payroll. The declining influence of unions has made it easier for employers to shift work to part-time and temporary employees. Factory work and even white-collar jobs have moved in recent years to low-cost countries in Asia and Latin America. Automation has helped manufacturing cut 5.6 million jobs since 2000 — the sort of jobs that once provided lower-skilled workers with middle-class paychecks.

History is not exactly favoring a quick revival of jobs:

After the recessions in 1990 and in 2001, 31 and 46 months passed before employment returned to its previous peaks. The economy was growing, but companies remained conservative in their hiring.

Some 34 million people were hired into new and existing private-sector jobs in 2000, at the tail end of an expansion, according to Labor Department data. A year later, in the midst of recession, hiring had fallen off to 31.6 million. And as late as 2003, with the economy again growing, hiring in the private sector continued to slip, to 29.8 million.

It was a jobless recovery: Business was picking up, but it simply did not translate into more work. This time, hiring may be especially subdued, labor economists say.

It is important we focus on securing our social nets, making it possible for our citizens to build assets, retrain our workforce for modern jobs and make education more accessible for all. These issues, on top of blockbuster topics such as health care and energy, should make this a particularly challenging decade. During this time of rebuilding, it is important that we shed the "me-first" mentality and focus on values that encourage sustainability for entire communities.

Read the full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/economy/21unemployed.html?pagewanted=2&em

Nominees sought for annual George Awards

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:

The Battle Creek Enquirer is accepting nominations for the 2010 George Awards, continuing a 53-year tradition of honoring area residents who take it upon themselves to make positive changes in their communities.

The honorees, selected for good works done in 2009, will be recognized at a reception April 21 at the Battle Creek Country Club.

Former Enquirer Publisher Robert B. Miller Sr. instituted the annual George Awards in 1957, recognizing people who "don't wait around for George to do it," but instead take the initiative and do things to benefit others in the community.

George recipients generally are people responsible for spearheading projects -- either one-time events or ongoing efforts -- that otherwise would not have existed. In order to qualify, the project also cannot be part of that person's regular job duties.

Read the full article:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100221/NEWS01/2210331/1002/Nominees-sought-for-annual-George-Awards

Michigan Schools Look at Cutting Music & Arts

"The arts are an initial way of communicating," said Woodson Reid, who headed (Detroit Public Schools) fine arts until last year. "Little children explain everything with their images and creations."

Such creations foster eye-hand coordination. "But our kids can be in the third or fourth grade," she said, "and still don't know how to hold scissors."

Antonia Caretto, a Farmington Hills clinical psychologist, said it all boils down to mental development.

"The more we can develop both sides of the brain," she said, "the better the long-term implications for creative problem-solving," which might be key to keeping this country competitive in a globalized world,"

according to an article in today's Detroit News, school districts in Michigan may be considering cutting programs in the arts and music due to financial difficulties in school funding from the state.

The full article can be found at:

www.detnews.com/article/20100222/SCHOOLS/2220332/Arts-lose-out-in-Metro-school-cuts#ixzz0gGKjWgRk

Onus of eviction falls heavier on poor black women, research shows

From the New York Times:

In an article in the New York Times, research conducted in Milwaukee demonstrates how the onus eviction falls heavier on black women than others. An excerpt from the article:

“Just as incarceration has become typical in the lives of poor black men, eviction has become typical in the lives of poor black women,” said Matthew Desmond, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin whose research on trends in Milwaukee since 2002 provides a rare portrait of gender patterns in inner-city rentals.

The study found that one of every 25 renter-occupied households in the city is evicted each year. In black neighborhoods, the rate is one in 14. These figures include only court-ordered evictions; the true toll, experts say, is greater because far more tenants, under threat of eviction, move in with relatives, into more run-down apartments or, sometimes, into homeless shelters.

Women from largely black neighborhoods in Milwaukee constitute 13 percent of the city’s population, but 40 percent of those evicted. Housing lawyers in Los Angeles and New York described a similar predominance of minority women, including Hispanic women, in eviction cases. (The figures do not include displaced renters from foreclosed properties.)

Even for working mothers, evictions and the ensuing damage to social ties, schooling and credit ratings can be an ever-hovering threat. Clarissa Adams, 38, a mother of three in Milwaukee, has been evicted four times in 10 years and is now trying desperately to break the pattern.

Since July she has shared a $570-a-month two-bedroom apartment with her daughters, ages 15, 18 and 23, and two small grandchildren. She is studying for a degree in social services and lost her job as a cashier in the fall after a dispute with her boss.

Unable to pay the last three months rent, Ms. Adams received some emergency assistance through Community Advocates, a private group. To stave off eviction, she promised to pay the landlord $1,000 by Feb. 15, just as her tax refund arrived. She owes an additional $955 by March 1 and hopes to scrape the money together while she looks for a job.

Previous evictions sent her into a deep depression, she said, and had temporarily split up the family, with her children staying a relative who did not want her.

“We just need someplace where we can be a family,” Ms. Adams said.

Eviction has devastating affects on both families and the communities who suffer them. To lose one's home is to lose the ultimate source of stability in life, making it extremely difficult maintain steady work. It creates a downward spiral which often can lead to depression and long-term government dependence.

Read the full article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19evict.html?pagewanted=1&hpw

Food stamps, child services fuel Michigan budget plan

From the Associated Press:

LANSING — Gov. Jennifer Granholm's latest budget proposal would hire hundreds of caseworkers to deal with rising demand for food stamps and to boost child welfare services in Michigan.

It won't be easy to find the extra money needed to hire the workers given the state's budget problems. The state must hire more child welfare workers as the result of a federal lawsuit.

Lawmakers on Thursday began hearings on the proposed Department of Human Services budget. Granholm's proposal would increase DHS spending by more than $100 million from the state's general fund for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The department's overall proposed budget of $7 billion is paid for mostly with federal money that covers a portion of welfare payments to children and families and other costs.

Understaffed Department of Human Service offices our a common theme across the state of Michigan. The situation has become so desperate in some areas, that leaders are searching for ways to prevent violence from occurring on behalf of frustrated workers at these offices. Hiring additional staff would be a beneficial way to support our needy population and delivery services more efficiently. The quicker we can send services to these people, the quicker they can stabilize their lives and actually depend less on others to support them.

See the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/food_stamps_child_services_fue.html

Allegan County receives high marks in Michigan Health-ranking report

Allegan County receives high marks in Michigan Health-ranking report

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

A new study suggests that Allegan County is the healthiest county in Southwest Michigan and that Kalamazoo County may be headed toward a healthier future.

St. Joseph, Cass and Van Buren counties, however, rank in the bottom half of Michigan’s 82 counties in a new County Health Rankings report from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Allegan County ranked 14th on health outcomes and 15th on health factors. Kalamazoo County ranked 37th on outcomes but considerably higher on health factors, at 13th.


Allegan may have fared well in the rankings due to its easy access to parks, walking trails and outdoor activities that help keep people healthy. It also has “farm-to-table” food programs to make people aware of healthy food options.

However, the county has lost a lot of money for teen-pregnancy prevention and hasn't been able to do as much outreach as it it would like. It also has a shortage of physicians.

For a community with an urban core, Kalamazoo seemed to fair well compared to other cities in Michigan.

“I was pleased to find us in the top 20 in three of four categories of health factors,” she said. Those three categories were behaviors (smoking, diet and exercise, alcohol use and unsafe sex), clinical care (access to health care and quality of care) and social and economic factors (education, employment, income, family and social support, community safety).

Kalamazoo County ranked 63rd, however, in the category of physical environment, which includes factors such as air quality, access to healthy foods and density of liquor stores.

Buzas said one thing Kalamazoo County should do is look at ways it can improve access to fresh, healthy foods for the whole population.

She cited Louisville, Ky., as an example of what a community can do to boost access to healthy foods. Louisville made sure there were corner stores in downtown neighborhoods “without all the junk food and with lots of fresh food and produce,” she said.

Buzas also emphasized that the responsibility for improving a community’s health goes far beyond local health officials.

“It’s not just the health department. It’s all of us,” she said. “A lot of things play into the health of people. A whole lot of things create a healthy population or a not-so-healthy population.”

Social and economic factors play a big role in a community’s health, and the economic downturn has brought extra challenges, Buzas said. “Some people are worried about just having a roof over their heads and what their next meal will be on the table,” she said.

But Kalamazoo County is working to address those challenges, she said. “You’re seeing people dealing with issues of social equity — housing and poverty and transportation and access to healthy foods — and how those affect your health,” she said.

On a personal level, “the biggest thing we can do to improve overall health is what we eat and being active,” Buzas said. She cited the local Girls on the Run as a successful effort to encourage girls to be physically active.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/chart_for_health_rankings.html

720,000 Michigan Residents Benefit from Earned Income Tax Credit

"Michiganians struggling to just get by in this dismal economy are getting a helping hand from an unlikely source: the tax man.

Federal and state tax agencies have anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars to give low-income workers and their families through the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Last year, more than 720,000 Michigan residents collected $1.5 billion from the federal credit, at an average of $2,047 apiece."

The full article is in Tuesday's Detroit News:

detnews.com/article/20100216/BIZ/2160368/Earned-income-credit-boosts-Michigan-s-low-income-workers

New Big Brothers Big Sisters program aim to help middle-school girls

New Big Brothers Big Sisters program aim to help middle-school girls

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kalamazoo is hosting a new program called Girls 2 Women, a program aimed at guiding middle-school girls in areas of education and career development.

The program will kick off at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Kazoo Books, 2413 Parkview Ave., in Kalamazoo with speaker Patti Criswell, American Girl author.

Criswell will speak about her career as a writer. Each girl will receive a copy of her book, which Criswell will be signing.

This event is the first of six “Girls Night Out” activities featuring a female career role model.

“I think this program helps girls look at their options, and see that there are opportunities out there to help make their dreams come true,” said Janene Weis, director of marketing and public relations with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Michigan.

Over a span of nine to 12 months, the girls will tour Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Valley Community College and Van Buren Technology Center.

The girls also can participate in an overnight lock-in at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo and design a community service project.

At the end of the program, the girls will create a newsletter detailing their experiences.

“A lot of our girls come from lower-income families or at-risk situations. I just want them to see that there are options available to them to get an education — to get that dream job,” Weis said.

Girls and mentors interested in participating can contact Devan Bell at devanbell@bbbsmi.org or (269) 382-6800 ext. 138.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/new_big_brothers_big_sisters_p.html

Feeding America West Michigan Seeks Change in Food Distribution for the Needy

John Arnold, the Executive Director of Feeding America West Michigan "is on a mission to improve the charity-food system. He says one way to do that is by tackling an old myth: that people in need should be given what he calls "bomb shelter food." Arnold says, "Products like powdered milk and dry beans and dried noodles sound and look nutritious but you never see in people's shopping cart."

He says nobody eats that stuff, but somehow food agencies think that's what they supposed to give people in need. Arnold says we need to get people good, nutritious food in a way that makes it fun."

Today's Michigan Radio has a story about what Feeding America is doing to change the distribution of food for the needy:

www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1611599/Michigan.News/Making.The.System.Better..and..More.Fun

Andrews University Celebrates Black History Month

Andrews University in Berrien Springs has a series of lectures, performances and other events celebrating Black History month. Berrien Springs is proud to be the second home of The Greatest, Muhammed Ali. Mr. Ali once said:

"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."

For the full listing of activities, see the Benton Spirit at:

www.bentonspiritnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=204&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=2975&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1935&hn=bentonspiritnews&he=.com

Kellogg Foundation helps fight child obesity

Kellogg Foundation helps fight child obesity

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is supporting a new effort led by First Lady Michelle Obama to combat childhood obesity.

Her campaign launched Tuesday when President Barack Obama signed a memorandum creating a task force on childhood obesity.

"Our current generation is actually on track to have a shorter lifespan than their parents," Michelle Obama said at a Tuesday press briefing at the White House.

Because one in three American children is overweight, or at risk of becoming overweight, "We have to act, so let's move," she said.

Sterling Speirn, president and chief executive officer of the Battle Creek-based philanthropic organization, said the Kellogg Foundation will commit its expert knowledge and financial resources to the First Lady's Let's Move challenge.

"Let's Move is a campaign that's going to rally our nation to achieve a single but very ambitious goal: to solve childhood obesity in a generation," Michelle Obama said.

To keep the initiative running even after the Obamas leave the White House, the First Lady said a new, independent, nonpartisan organization will be created to meet four goals set by the coalition:

• Offering parents the tools and information they need,

• Getting healthier food in schools,

• Ensuring all families have access to healthy and affordable food,

• Increasing opportunities for kids to be physically active both in and out of school.

Read the full article:

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20100210/NEWS01/2100322/1002/Kellogg-

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that affects Americans across the spectrum of race, class and income. However, it can disproportionately affect those who live in poverty. Born into a culture that already doesn't value health as highly as it should, low-income families are further disadvantaged because they lack access to healthy foods and health care.

According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, income is a higher predictor of health than genetics. In a study called "The Poor Pay More," researchers write about the widespread impact of the well-being of the poor on our society as a whole:

There are many reasons to be concerned about the well-being of the poor. Poverty limits the ability of individuals to fully participate in society; they miss out on the benefits of such participation as does society as a whole. Poverty’s effects spread within families and across generations and require social expenditures that take resources from other areas.

We also now see that the effects of poverty go beyond social and economic concerns and are felt on the body as well. The notion that the “poor pay more” extends to their bodies as well. In an endless cycle, we have an endgame in which poverty begets poor health and poor health can lead to poverty.

---

It is not enough to simply acknowledge that poverty robs some of us of good health and weakens us as a country. Much is known about the potential for national policies, and related policies at the state and local level, to break the links between poverty and poor health. Applying such knowledge is a critical step in improving the health of our nation.

Read the full study here:

http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/thepoorpaymore2009.pdf

Kalamazoo's north side will have a new grocery store in 2010

According to the director of the Northside Association for Community Development, Kalamazoo's north side will have a new grocery store in 2010.


From the City of Kalamazoo:

Director Mattie Jordan-Woods said local officials have received at least six responses to a recent request-for-proposals for a new store to replace a Felpausch grocery that closed in May.

Jordan-Woods declined comment on when a search committee could announce its selection for a new tenant for the vacant store at 512 N. Park St.

"Without a doubt, there will be a grocery store there in 2010," she said. "But we know we have to take our time and do it right. This could be our last chance to get a store in there."

The north side currently has no store that offers fresh fruits, vegetables and other produce to residents in the area. They have to drive either to Portage, Oshtemo or the east side in order to purchase groceries in quantity.

After the previous store, Feldpausch, closed last year, the only options left were quick-shop stores - which often package overpriced, salty and fatty alternatives. Acquiring a grocery store in the region will help residents live healthier lives, while allowing them to spend less on food and transportation.

Read the full article:

http://www.ci.kalamazoo.mi.us/portal/business.php?news_id=157

United Way and Kalamazoo Community Foundation to offer a $4 Million "lifeline" for needy residents

United Way and Kalamazoo Community Foundation to offer a $4 Million "lifeline" for needy residents

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Major individual and family donors to the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and the Greater Kalamazoo United Way will contribute an additional $4 million over the next three years to provide a “lifeline” to Kalamazoo County residents who lack food, shelter and medical care.

In what is likely a first in Michigan, the two charitable fundraising organizations announced today that a quiet campaign launched last summer will provide $2 million this year and $1 million in both 2011 and 2012 to local non-profits that will use the money to provide basic human needs.

The $4 million is in addition to money the donors have committed to the foundation and United Way over the next several years, said Michael J. Larson, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Kalamazoo United Way.

Olivarez said the first round of funding should be out in the community by May 1.

The two charity leaders said Kalamazoo County’s human toll in the sharp economic downturn shifted the emphasis for this program from creating long-term sustainability to providing immediate relief.

“We’ve been looking at programs that help people become employable, to get jobs, that help them learn how to fish (to be self-sustaining),” Olivarez said. “Right now we realize a lot of people just need a fish. Both of those things have to happen, but this piece is to get that fish out now to the people who are hungry.”

For more information on donating to Lifeline Initiative, contact:

Mark Crail
Greater Kalamazoo United Way
mcrail@gkuw.org
(269) 343-2524, ext. 226
or
Ann Fergemann
Kalamazoo Community Foundation
afergemann@kalfound.org
(269) 381-4416

Tax-deductible donations may be made payable to either organization, with the designation “Lifeline Initiative” on the check. Send to:

Kalamazoo Community Foundation
151 S. Rose St.
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
or
Greater Kalamazoo United Way
709 S. Westnedge Ave.
Kalamazoo, MI 49007

Read the Full Article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/4_million_will_become_a_lifeli.html

Cass County Pre-School Advocate is Concerned About Possible Program Cuts

According to the Dowagiac Daily News, "the 2009 Kids Count in Michigan Data Book was released last month and revealed some alarming trends in Cass County. Possibly most concerning, Cass County ranks 77th out of 78 counties surveyed in high school dropout percentage at 21.3 percent."

Cass County "infant mortality and infants receiving less than adequate prenatal care are also on the rise and well above the state average."

Heather Merrill, the county's Great Start Readiness Coordinator, "is worried about further state cuts for early childhood development programs. The Cass County Great Start Readiness Program was nearly cut last year but was reinstated in the final hour. Merrill is concerned it could be on the chopping block again soon."

For more information see:

www.dowagiacnews.com/2010/02/04/great-start-concerned-about-cuts/

College Students Assisted by Food Banks

"At Michigan State University, there has been a 25% increase since 2008 in the number of students who visit its student-run food bank. Grand Valley State University opened a food pantry in April to help students as they struggle with higher tuition costs and families beset by layoffs and unemployment," per the Detroit Free Press.

For more information on how some colleges are helping students by opening food banks, see:

www.freep.com/article/20100206/NEWS06/2060324/1318/College-students-turning-to-schools-food-banks

Parents urged to help close literacy gap

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Area school administrators and religious leaders are sending out a call to the community to address the literacy gap among African-American students in Kalamazoo Public Schools.

“We have to opportunity to save someone’s life tonight. It’s that important,” Kimberly Parker-DeVauld, principal of Lincoln International Studies Elementary School, said during a forum Wednesday. “It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child. We’re here to shock you into action.”

There will be a reading and writing clinic on February 22nd, from 6pm - 7:30pm and continuing every Monday thereafter. It will be held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 120 Robertson St., Kalamazoo and support Parents with children from kindergarten through age 8. Call (269) 760-7743 to sign up.

Read the full article hear:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/parents_urged_to_help_close_li.html

Hunger on the rise in southern Michigan

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

A national report that says a growing number of Americans are in need of food also shows “hunger is increasing at an alarming rate” in an eight-county area that includes Kalamazoo County, according to the Food Bank of South Central Michigan.

The Food Bank, which serves more than 100,000 people a year in Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lenawee and St. Joseph counties through a network of food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other organizations, on Tuesday released a report as part of a national Hunger in America 2010 study.

The report, produced every four years, is taken from 340 interviews with Food Bank of South Central Michigan clients and surveys of 233 of its feeding agencies.

From what many organizations have experienced out on the front lines, this is not something completely surprising. Times are dire and we need to continue to support the basic needs of our communities. Some interesting stats:

• 78 percent of all households served are food insecure, meaning its members don’t know where their next meal will come from.
• 44 percent of all households served have to choose between paying the utility bill/heat or getting food.
• 60 percent of all households have unpaid medical or hospital bills.

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/agency_says_hunger_is_on_the_r.html

Students plan to protest loss of Michigan Promise scholarship at State of the State address

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

What's happening:

Nearly 5,000 college and high school students are expected to protest outside the Capitol the cutting of the Michigan Promise scholarship.

Ben Lazarus, a sophomore at Central Michigan University and founder of NoBrokenPromise.com, is spearheading the protest with the help of Common Sense in Government, a non-partisan group, and students from a number of major universities across the state.

“It’s hard to find leaders at the university level,” Lazarus said. “In Lansing, it’s tough to stand against both parties, but I felt it was my responsibility and I’ve been impressed with the response I’ve gotten from my fellow students.”

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“The message we’re pushing now is for students to call their legislators and tell them to boycott the State of the State address and listen to the real state of the state on the steps of the capitol building,” Lazarus said. “The stories of students and taxpayers, hardships because of their broken promises.”

They have created a Facebook page to rally support around the Michigan Promise. You can join it by clicking here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=search&gid=115556985977

The Scholarship's impact on Michigan students:

Students at Grand Valley, such as sophomore Janelle Cranmer, know first-hand the difficulties caused by the lost scholarship money. GVSU students were billed $500.

“For some of us like myself, paying for next month’s rent and food is now in question,” Cranmer said.

Said GVSU senior Gregory Hatt, “I think because some students are suffering so much, that’s translating into a lot of motivation and drive to help rally other students and other people in the community that are upset.”

Read the full article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/02/students_plan_to_protest_loss.html