Discrimination by the US Government

ONLINE STUDENTS...

Discriminated against by our US GOVERNMENT!

For many years, Universities all across the Nation has tried to overcome discrimination in their institutions by promoting equality and to overcome the barriers to advancement in higher education for racialized people.

There is a new group of people today being discriminated agianst. We are online students. We are the students of Universities across the nation who have chosen, for whatever reason, to pursue their degree online instead of attending classes in person. Many of us are mothers, wives, husbands, fathers etc, and have had to overcome many adversities just to try and further their education in order for their families to live a better life.

The pandemic has hit everyone hard physically, mentally and financially. Our US Government has tried to provide assistance and aid during this difficult time; however, the millions of dollars our government officials sent to the Universities during this time of hardship had one small statement at the end of each policy…..

“ONLINE STUDENTS EXCLUDED”

When I received the announcement in the fall regarding additional financial help being offered due to the pandemic I immediately emailed the financial aid office for information on how to apply. I then was told online students were excluded from this aid handed down by our Federal Government by the Cares Act.

WHAT! We are all online students right now. At the very moment I was told no I was not eligible even though everyone at Astate was taking classes online!

The following is from the Emergency Financial Aid Grants F&Q:

{ Institutions that provide both online and ground-based education:

Are students who were enrolled exclusively in online programs prior to the national emergency due to the coronavirus eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants?

At institutions that provide both online and ground-based education, those students who were enrolled exclusively in an online program on March 13, 2020, the date of the President’s Proclamation, “Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak,” Federal Register Vol. 85, No. 53 at 15337- 38, are not eligible for emergency financial aid grants. The formula provided by Congress for calculating the distribution of funds to institutions excludes students who were exclusively enrolled in distance education courses. }

All over the country online students are affected by the pandemic in one way or another. It is hard for many to ask for help even during times of hardship. So when I asked about assistance through the Emergency Fund and was told I was excluded because I was taking classes online, I truly felt like I was not as good as the students who were taking classes on campus. This made me feel as if I was not worthy of the help from the University or our Government.

Then the end of Fall Term 2020 came.

The announcement was made that we had the option of receiving a CR/NC for any grade we chose during the Pandemic so if we had a bad grade this would keep it from affecting your GPA which in turn would keep you from losing any scholarships or Financial Aid you're receiving.

Again, I emailed my advisor about this.

OF COURSE! We are EXCLUDED! ONLINE STUDENTS CANNOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PRIVILEGE!

From the website at ASTATE University

WHO CAN USE THE CR/NC OPTION?

The CR/NC option is available to traditional students that are taking courses in Fall 2020.

The CR/NC option is available to students on the A-State Queretaro campus.

The CR/NC option is not available to students in the A-State Online programs.

The CR/NC option is not available for courses taken during the December Interim period.

Discrimination is defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things.

Discrimination can rear its ugly head in almost any type of situation. I am not an African American. I have studied racism and discrimination for the last year of my college career. I never truly understood the magnitude of what discrimination really meant until now. When I was told I was excluded and there was nothing I could do about it. Well, guess what! This is the United States of America and Yes I can do something about it!

I emailed my State Representative, Senator, Governor Asa Hutchinson and emailed the White House. I also included a mass email to all online students at Arkansas State University.

To my surprise, Rick McClure, my state representative, called me this morning. He expressed his understanding and told me he has made many calls on my behalf today. He has forwarded my email to the appropriate people who are responsible for setting these Emergency Policies in motion. Mr. McClure said, these policies were put together and set into motion quickly. Some details were overlooked and not thought through. He also said he completely understood my frustration since he was also an online student and I should be receiving a call in 3-4 business days on the decision to change Arkansas’ policies where online students are concerned about State and Federal Aid during the pandemic.

Instead of our government continuing to try and fight agianst discrimination of age, sex and gender they have added a new category….

ONLINE STUDENTS!

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***If you are an online student or know of anyone who is currently taking classes online, please encourage them to email their government officials to help get these policies changed so others like me can receive the same assistance every other college student is getting the option to receive***