Until then, you can enjoy this newspaper article from the MSMS 20 Year Celebration.
MSMS alums displeased with student fees legislation
Saturday, August 9, 2008 9:14 PM CDTAlumni of Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science converged on the school for a reunion Friday, celebrating 20 years of MSMS.
And the chorus of alums — recent and old - sang the same song: A new $500 room-and-board fee could be detrimental to the school.
“If you’re kinda on the fence, that might keep somebody from coming,” said Matthew Bell, a 2003 MSMS graduate from Tupelo who is now working on a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University, during a reception for MSMS alumni and current students held in the school’s Hogarth Rec Room.
His friend Barry Youngblood agreed.
“While most students can pay (the fee), it prevents certain socioeconomic classes from attending, or even trying to attend,” said Youngblood, a 2003 MSMS graduate from Gulfport who is finishing his bachelor’s degree in physics at MSU.In April, the Legislature attached a provision to House Bill 513 requiring each MSMS student, except those enrolled in the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, to pay a $500 room-and-board fee per semester.
CHIP is a state-funded health plan for families who cannot afford health insurance but earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid.
The fee might change the demographics of the school’s students, said Brandi Williams, a 2004 MSMS graduate from Collins, who is now a second-year master’s student in English at MSU.
“You’re not getting the best; you’re getting the people who can pay,” Williams said.
Current faculty members told her the number of applicants has dropped, she added.
Timing
Some alumni disapproved of the timing of the provision, which came at the end of the regular 2008 session.
“I didn’t like the manner in which it was thrust upon MSMS, because they weren’t able to put into place a system for helping the students,” said Cindy Everitt, a stay-at-home mom living in Dallas, who grew up in Indianola. Everitt, in 1990, was in the first class of MSMS graduates.
“MSMS was pretty much blindsided with this,” Everitt continued. “They had just a few months to make sure that all of the current students were able to return this year, to make sure it wasn’t an issue, which I understand it really was for a few.”
Everitt said one current student she spoke with said she had to work all summer in order to keep going to the school.
Missed opportunity
She and other alumni didn’t think they would have attended if they had been required to pay the fees.
“I’m not sure that my parents would have been able to afford the tuition if it had been in place,” Everitt said.
“I think over $1,000 would have been difficult for my family,” echoed Jennie Vernon, a friend of Everitt’s, who also graduated from MSMS in 1990.
“I can’t say with certainty that they would have been able to do that. And I think it definitely would have caused them a lot of pause to send me here,” continued Vernon, who grew up in Oxford and is now a pediatrician in Denver. She said the education would have been worth the money, though.
“While my family would have been able to pay, there’s some people who could really benefit from this type of education, and I really hate that they would miss out on an opportunity like this,” said Laura Williams, a 2004 MSMS graduate from Gulfport who is working on a master’s degree in accounting at MSU.
A few alumni in attendance said it was Mississippi’s duty to offer free education catered to high achievers.
“We’re special education,” said Sarah Prather, a 2007 MSMS alum, who grew up in West Point and is now a junior animal science major at MSU. “You can’t ignore the upper end of the spectrum any more than the lower.”
“I think it should be provided,” agreed Jed Leggett, who grew up in Purvis, graduated from MSMS in 2003 and is now a senior studying math, physics and philosophy at MSU. “I feel like it’s a responsibility of the state to at least offer the possibility for each of its citizens to obtain the highest degree of education that they are capable of for free.”
Alumni assistance
Some alumni at the reception said they would like to try to help offset the fee future students will have to pay to attend the school.
“We are concerned and hope that we can eventually help with some of the students that need it but are excluded by state guidelines (from) assistance,” Vernon said.
“Definitely when I start my job I want to give money for somebody,” Laura Williams agreed.
About 80 people, most of whom were current students, attended the Friday reception. Some former and current faculty members also were on hand.
The reception was one of several events held on campus this week in honor of the start of the school’s 20th year.
2 comments:
I read that story earlier today. I thought it was pretty good!
I talked to Jeane yesterday and told her to go and get a newspaper so she could see your article. I thought the article was excellent. Way to go MSMS alumni!!
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