Political News and Commentary with the Right Perspective. NAVIGATION
  • Front Page
  • News
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • RSS Feed


  • Your New Scoop Site

    Welcome to Scoop!

    To help you figure things out, there is a Scoop Admin Guide which can hopefully answer most of your questions.

    Some tips:

    • Most of the layout is changed in "Blocks", found in the admin tools menu
    • Features can be turned on and off, and configured, in "Site Controls" in the admin tools menu
    • Stories have an "edit" link right beside the "Full Story" link on an index page, and right beside the "Post a Comment" link on the full story page. They can also be edited by clicking the story title in the "Story List" admin tool
    • Boxes are what allow you to write new features for Scoop; they require a knowledge of the perl programming language to work with effectively, although you can often make small changes without knowing much perl. If you would like a feature added but cannot program it yourself, ScoopHost does custom Scoop programming as one of its services.
    • If you aren't sure where to look for a particular feature or piece of display, try the "Search Admin Tools" link in the admin tools menu.

    For support, questions, and general help with Scoop, email support@scoophost.com

    ScoopHost.com is currently running Scoop version Undeterminable from .

    Tag: scholarships

    Making it Tougher for Michigan's College Students


    By The Wizard of Laws, Section Multimedia
    Posted on Fri Jun 05, 2009 at 10:48:53 AM EST
    Tags: Alma Wheeler Smith, prisons, scholarships, universities (all tags)

    Cross-posted in The Wizard of Laws

    Elected representatives ordinarily can be expected to advocate on behalf of their local constituents. Once in a while, they even rise above local politics to work on something that will benefit a broader area, such as the county, the region, or the state they serve.

    Then there are those politicians who, inexplicably, do stupid things that do not benefit anyone.

    Say hello to Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democrat from Washtenaw County. On June 3, she introduced a bill into the Michigan House of Representatives that is so ocntrary to common sense that merely to state its content is to ridicule it.

    First, a little background. The Michigan Competitive Scholarship program awards scholarships to students pursuing their first degrees at approved Michigan postsecondary institutions. Students must demonstrate both financial need and merit, and eligible applicants must achieve a qualifying ACT score prior to entering ocllege. The scholarships are awarded to three or more students in each legislative district.

    Good idea, right? Helps kids who need the money and have demonstrated the ability to succeed in college. What could be more appropriate?

    Rep. Smith obviously has a different idea. On June 3, she introduced HB 5039, which would prohibit any Michigan competitive scholarship from being awarded this year or at any time in the future. Why? What could possibly justify this move? I called Rep. Smith's office to ask, but there was no answer.

    With the economy reeling, we need to make sure our foundations are sound. Our taxing and spending has to create and foster an entrepreneurial environment, and our educational system must encourage performance at a high level for all our citizens.

    The Michigan competitive scholarship is a small part of the education effort, but it sends an important signal -- we are committed to helping those who need the help but who have also demonstrated the ability. Perhaps Rep. Smith objects to the merit requirement? We may never know, but that would be consistent with another change she proposed, one which really makes no sense.

    The current law denies scholarship funds to persons who are incarcerated. HB 5039 takes this away, such that persons residing in our state prisons would be eligible for the scholarships. This is bad, but it's also nonsensical since the same bill eliminates the scholarships altogether, so why make prisoners eligible for them?

    What puts the frosting on the cake is the fact that Rep. Smith's district includes Eastern Michigan University (The Wiz's undergraduate alma mater). Why would someone representing a university introduce a bill to eliminate college scholarships for financially needy, well-deserving students? Who benefits from this bill?

    HB 5039, where the nonsensical meets the inexplicable.

    Comments >>

    Advertise on RightMichigan.com

    Login

    Make a new account

    Username:
    Password:
    Tweet along with RightMichigan by
    following us on Twitter HERE!

    External Feeds

    Metro/State News RSS from The Detroit News
    + Craig: Cushingberry tried twice to elude police, was given preferential treatment
    + Detroit police arrest man suspected of burning women with blowtorch
    + Fouts rips video as 'scurrilous,' defends Chicago trip with secretary
    + Wind, winter weather hammer state from Mackinac Bridge to southeast Mich.
    + Detroit Cass Tech QB Campbell expected to be released from custody Friday
    + New water rates range from -16% to +14%; see change by community
    + Detroit's bankruptcy gets controversial turn in new Honda ad
    + Royal Oak Twp., Highland Park in financial emergency, review panels find
    + Grosse Ile Twp. leads list of Michigan's 10 safest cities
    + Wayne Co. sex crimes backlog grows after funding feud idles Internet Crime Unit
    + Judge upholds 41-60 year sentence of man guilty in Detroit firefighter's death
    + Detroit man robbed, shot in alley on west side
    + Fire at Detroit motel forces evacuation of guests
    + Survivors recount Syrian war toll at Bloomfield Hills event
    + Blacks slain in Michigan at 3rd-highest rate in US

    Politics RSS from The Detroit News
    + Apologetic Agema admits errors but won't resign
    + Snyder: Reform 'dumb' rules to allow more immigrants to work in Detroit
    + GOP leaders shorten presidential nominating season
    + Dems: Another 12,600 Michiganians lose extended jobless benefits
    + Mike Huckabee's comments on birth control gift for Dems
    + Granholm to co-chair pro-Clinton PAC for president
    + Republican panel approves tougher penalties for unauthorized early primary states
    + Michigan seeks visas to lure immigrants to Detroit
    + Peters raises $1M-plus for third straight quarter in Senate bid
    + Bill would let lawyers opt out of Michigan state bar
    + Michigan lawmakers launch more bills against sex trade
    + Balanced budget amendment initiative gets a jumpstart
    + Feds subpoena Christie's campaign, GOP
    + Poll: At Obama's 5-year point, few see a turnaround
    + Obama to release 2015 budget March 4

    create account | faq | search