COLUMN: Students need reality

Published: Thursday, September 19, 2002


The UNM Lottery and Bridge to Success Scholarships are a bit like communism — they both look great on paper. However, year after year the scholarships are harshly criticized and despite support from UNM community, little action has been taken in making these programs efficient.

Statistically, lottery recipients have a higher chance of dropping out than any other demographic and while it seems that the University's best interests would lie in mending the bleeding wounds of the lottery program, it's fairly evident that University apathy is caused by extra funds gained by the program.

Initially, the lottery/bridge combo was designed to cover student tuition costs for eight semesters. But students who still believe this put faith in lies. The trajectory of UNM tuition is ever increasing. Unfortunately for students who rely on the lottery, the scholarship committee has done very little to increase the funds awarded in order to cover the tuition hikes. This year lottery students ended up paying roughly $400 a year in tuition alone from their own pockets.

While there exists a myriad of lottery problems, two key factors perpetuate the derelict organization of this particular scholarship: high school seniors must attend university immediately upon graduation and once at the university, students are only required to maintain a 2.5 GPA. However arbitrary and harmless these factors appear, they are deceiving; combined these two factors are responsible for everything negative about the lottery.

It's no surprise that New Mexico public education is the laughing stock of at least 47 other states yet in order to receive the lottery Scholarship, freshmen (a.k.a. money-trees) must have a earned a GPA of 2.5 in high school. This means very little, only that upon entering, a freshman need only have mastered use of the fork, is somewhat literate and familiar with Dr. Seuss. The irony is such: every graduating high school senior must have a 2.5 to graduate! This means that nearly every graduating senior in the state will receive a scholarship! So ideally anyone can get a degree at UNM for only $400 a year?

Not quite. Were this the case, UNM would have made the qualifications for receiving the lottery more stringent long ago as money gathering would not be substantial.

Is UNM willing to say to the public that many students who don't want to go to college are now can do so because "it's practically free?" It's common knowledge that not every high school senior with a 2.5 has the cognitive capacity or the independence at 18 to succeed in college. But with the lottery, it's now or never, junior.

If forced to tackle the real world, students who may not have been mature enough to appreciate college at 18 will be more likely to stay in school when they start. Why? As a general rule, people who have experienced firsthand the difficulty in finding a decent job without a college education are more prone to gain a college education. Flipping burgers can only take you so far.

However, those students who were undeservingly awarded the lottery and believe that college is a place where you get stoned every day, get drunk every night and occasionally go to class when your legs function not only bring down the report of the program but also take money from the deserving students who are having to shell out money from their own pockets. Justice seems to be some frowned upon idealistic philosophy only discussed in textbooks at UNM. Progress, apparently, lies on the same page.

Out-of-state students with the Amigo Scholarship are charged in-state tuition as long as they maintain a 3.0 compared to the lottery's 2.5. It's great that UNM bureaucracy recognizes the intellectual handicap of N.M. students! Psychology has proven that if you hold students to low standards, they will not perform to their potential. How does UNM ever expect to improve the performance of lottery recipients if insinuate that they expect their performance level to be sub-par?

Even if the system isn't effective in drawing the right crowd to UNM at least the extra money UNM is tapping from lottery students is being directed towards a positive alternative. The post-football game fireworks are a perfect example of money well spent.