Page Eight

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Thursday, December 2, 1971

PageEigh THEMICHGAN AIL

.T.h..,_.r.T .d. .... . ,m e . 1971.

STUDENTS STILL DISSATISFIED

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OPEN MON. thru FRI. 'til 9 p.m.

Black

financial

aid

increases

(Continued from page 1)
ment, another OP student said,
"I see a lot more blacks on cam-
pus but I haven't seen more mon-
ey. It seems like funds must be
hiding somewhere."
Indeed, the University's recruit-
ing efforts have been extremely,
successful. According to University!
figures, some 1,900 black students,
or over 5.5 per cent of the student
body, are presently enrolled on the
Ann Arbor campus. Ths figure is
some 200 students over the target
enrollment for this year set in,
April, 1970.
With a four-member staff, the
University's recruiters for under-
graduate minority students tra-
;verse the state periodically, seek-
ing out high school students who
might qualify for an OP grant be-
cause of a low-income family
background. Many of the various
schools and colleges have their own
recruiters as well, as do the pro-
fessional and graduate schools.
"We know we're ahead enroll-
ment-wise," said William Fensten-
macher, asistant to the vice presi-
ent for academic affairs, "and
we're somewhat ahead in dollars."
Despite massive increases in fi-
nancial aid funding however, ad-
ministrators are not sure whether
the University has adequate funds
for its burgeoning black enroll-
ment.
"What is enough for one stu-
dent, isn't for another," said one
financial official.
Most black students receiving
the aid, however, readily answer
that the financial aid is inade-
quate.
Regina Clark, '73, explained,
"When I came here I was under
the impression that I'd get at least
the same amount every year. Then
tuition went up. I had to reapply
for my grant and couldn't get
enough-now it's a complete has-
sle to make ends meet."
"It just looks like the University
is doing nothing for blacks but
tossing out a few nickels," she
added.
According to Butts, the financial
aid personnel try to determine
each students' need by first judg-
ing their family situation, plug-
ging in some standard expectations
for their own annual earnings, and

then
need.

attempting to meet their

According to the University, the
average grant for an undergradu-
ate this year was $650 and for a
grad, $3,750.
Butts explained that the office
makes exxceptions for granting
more funds in emergencies, but
has no standard way to deal with
such situations.
One 'black upperclassman said
recently, "getting funding these
days is really a traumatic situa-
tion. My overall situation had to
get worse before they would give
me what I needed.",
However, some students said
that while they've heard other stu-
dents complain of hassles with the
financial aid office, they them-
selves are relatively content.
"They've solved my money prob-
lems for a long time ahd have re-
ally helped me, and also my sister,
said Ellis Ingram, Grad.
Still, one sophomore in the lit-
erary college claimed "most of us
end up taking large loans or hav-
ing to drop out. I'd say a very sub-
stantial majority of us are dissat-
isfied."
In the face of such complaints,
officials reassert what they see
as the University's firm support of
the Opportunity Program.
"There's no doubt that we've

not saying that every student is
happy with the money he gets, but
all OP students do get money."
Butts added that he had been
discussing such problems recently
with members of the Black Stu-
dent Union in the hopes of iron-
ing out some of the complaints.
"If anyone is dissatisfied, we
want to hear aliout it and rap it
out," said Butts.
More concrete proposals for deal-
ing with problems within the Op-
portunity Program are presently
being explored by the program's
new advisory committee, which is
composed of students, faculty and
staff members, and administrators.
The advisory committee was set
up last September as part of a
general re-organization of the Op-
portunity Program. In August, the
seven-year-old program was put
under the supervision of Dr. Wil-
liam Cash, assistant to the presi-
dent for human relations.
According to Cash, the advis-
ory committee is "mandated" to
review all portions of the program
and to present by January 1 a
complete description of the pro-
gram and a list of recommenda-
tions for improving the program.
Yet, more than one committee
member has said that the group
has barely started their investiga-

fill its seat on the committee be-
cause among other reasons, it's
not a policy-making body. BSU
members have also criticized the
committee, pointing out that Cash
is only a supervisor of the board
rather than a director.
"If he was the director, he'd
have some autonomy to implement
the committee's decisions, but now
he's got other interests and re-
sponsibilities," said Jim Halloway,
'74, BSU representative on the ad-
visory committee.
Chairman of the committee, Lee
Calhoun, Grad, said, however, that
he expects the committee's report
will "alert the whole community
to the needs and problems of the
program.
"We're busy people, and wouldn't
be doing this investigation unless
we felt assured of serious consid-

eration of our proposals by Flem-
ing."
Halloway said, nonetheless, he is
dubious, whether black students
will find satisfactory answers to
their complaints over financial aid
with the committee's actions.
"It's this whole traditional thing
of making reports, having someone
read them, making recommenda-
tions, etc., etc., that will be so
frustrating," he said.
On the other hand, the admin-
istration remains optimistic.
"We're t a k i n g an enormous
amount of resources and going in
to try to make significant changes
at the University. We can't say
we've failed or succeeded until we
give ourselves the chance to per-
fect the system," said Butts.
Tomorrow:
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