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Senator Schumer Says "No" to Putting Say Yes Students at Risk

Scott Willis
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WAER News

Scholarship dollars for hundreds of Say Yes students in Syracuse and elsewhere appear to be getting held up in a new federal department of education policy that could cause some students to drop out of college. Senator Chuck Schumer is demanding the Secretary of Education reverse the policy.

Schumer said the problem is that Say Yes and similar scholarship programs are unable to access students’ financial data in order to process payments in a timely manner.  He said this throws up unnecessary roadblocks that can result in late fees for students or worse.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Manny Matteo and Isabel Goss both shared how the Say Yes program helped them become students at Onondaga Community College.

“And my guess is, this is their way of trying to create the beginning of the end for Say Yes. If we let this stand, they’ll make it worse and worse and worse. This is bad enough because it makes it harder for students to apply, students don’t get their funds in a timely way, and many of them will have to drop out. This is a disgrace,” said Schumer.

Isabel Goss, a Say Yes student who graduated from Corcoran High School and now attends Syracuse University, said receiving an education shouldn’t be this difficult.

“The department of education should be making it easier for all of us to go to school and not harder. We’ve worked really, really hard to get to the point that we’re at today, and it should be easier for more students to come,” said Goss.

For Henninger graduate Manny Mateo, Say Yes offers peace of mind.  He said he was excited by college but frightened by the cost.  Mateo said for too many, worrying about money can be a burden.

“Because when you have a student, a full time student, working one sometimes two jobs to pay off their college, it takes away from their time. That time that it’s taken away takes away from their ability to excel. Not to study because we all study but to truly excel,” said Mateo.

Mateo is on OCC’s track and field team, and will graduate in May with a degree in Computer forensics.  He plans to transfer to Utica College and major in cybersecurity.  Senator Schumer said there’s no good reason for the policy change. 

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Senator Chuck Schumer spoke out against a new federal education policy which puts some students at risk of dropping out of college. Joining him are Syracuse City Schools Superintendent Jaime Alicea, left, and OCC President Dr. Casey Crabill.

“It gave no notice not only to the students but to schools like OCC, to the scholarship providers and the families,” said Schumer. “Say Yes Syracuse had to reach out to the 600 college students it supports through scholarships and try to help them through the new process, but it hasn’t been easy.”

He said it’s clear Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is just not fit for the job.

“She’s a very wealthy woman, a billionaire, and I don’t think she understands the struggles that students like Isabel and Manny go through,” said Schumer.

In a letter to DeVos, Schumer explained how Say Yes to education has awarded nearly $19 million in direct scholarships since 2009, supporting 7,800 New York Students. 

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.