Back in April, the University of Nebraska released an initiative called Nebraska Promise. This announcement was a response to the uncertainty caused by Covid-19. I enjoyed writing out my thoughts, so I wanted to bring them here too! For clerical purposes, this post was created on April 17th, 2020, and can be found on my Facebook page!
There are some aspects of this promise that aren't readily available to the public; mainly how this will be funded given our university's public monetary struggles. However, I do appreciate that we're trying to provide a floor for Nebraskans. Something for our state that isn't dictated at a federal level. This is just Nebraska trying to give vulnerable Nebraskans a base to start on and help jump-start their lives.
The qualification to receive this grant is that your family's adjusted gross income (AGI) is at or below $60,000. The median threshold of income for a Nebraskan family, as per our census, is $59,596. On top of that, the student must maintain a 2.5 or higher GPA. See here for an FAQ: https://nebraska.edu/nebraska-promise/faq
Unfortunately, negatives are always easy to find, and I'm well aware of the pitfalls of AGI. Those issues won't be solved right now, but all we can do is use the resources we do have to help shape the world around us and improve it bit by bit over time. Patience is a virtue that has to be embraced; no matter how much it sucks.
That isn't meant to diminish the criticisms and concerns when providing such blanket opportunities though. Some of us will feel cheated that we weren't able to have this benefit when we were in school. Others might balk at the idea of their tax payer money going towards uses they don't personally agree with. Rightfully, you could argue that money will just get wasted on "bad apples".
I can't blame anyone for having negative opinions like the above. Your trust in our system has been broken, and we have to earn it back. It's unfortunate that we as a society can't seem to have a solution that both rights the inequities of our past while also providing a path for the future. Technology does afford us the privilege of history and hindsight though. Why not use that to our advantage to at least make the future a better place for everyone?
We are providing resources to those that never could have had them, or to those where it would have been difficult to obtain them. Discussions can be had on if this is the right approach, but I firmly believe providing opportunities that our communities can opt-in to will always be the best investment possible, even if some of them don't pan out.
Is the Nebraska Promise a perfect solution? No, but it is a way for us to bring each other up. We talk about how high our society's ceiling is. Why not bring the floor up with us and move Humanity Forward while we're at it