National AmeriCorps program defunded due to budget cuts
(The Beacon)
By Philip Ellefson, Staff Writer -- ellefson15@up.edu
Due to a federal funding cut, students working for the Moreau Center may not receive as much money this year as they expected.
Students in Service (SIS) was a program run by AmeriCorps that rewarded students committed to community service with a scholarship. UP's Service and Justice Coordinators (SJCs) are paid through the program. However, the SIS program was terminated yesterday.
Melissa Marley Bonnichsen, the assistant director for service and community partnership in the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership, said the program is being eliminated because of federal spending cuts.
"What has happened is AmeriCorps in general has been getting a lot of pressure from the government to cut spending," Marley Bonnichsen said. "In November we got word that they were going to do a huge national audit of the program."
After this audit took place, 16 of the 21 states that have students in SIS were cut from the program because they did not meet standards.
Although many schools in SIS failed the audit, UP passed.
"The University of Portland passed with flying colors, and Oregon as a whole passed," Marley Bonnichsen said.
Despite the success of five of the states in the audit, the entire program was cut.
"Last Wednesday (Feb. 22) we got an email saying that they had canceled the program nationally," Marley Bonnichsen said. "We were told that we couldn't enroll any more students. They said, ‘On Friday, we want all the students to be done.'"
Bonnichsen said the students currently involved in SIS will still be awarded some money, but their award will depend on the amount of service completed by Feb. 29. Before the budget cuts, the SJCs at UP would complete at least 300 hours of service for a reward of $1,175 per year for each individual SJC. The money from SIS is given to the SJCs as a scholarship proportional to how much service they pledge to do.
The Moreau Center will continue to employ SJCs, who are also awarded free room and board. They will also be searching for other ways to compensate for the loss of SIS, Bonnichsen said.
Junior Austin Veiga, Villa Maria Hall's SJC, said the abrupt end to the program is concerning.
"I myself was a little upset," Veiga said. "A lot of us felt like we entered into a contract with the government. It sucks when a deal like that falls through."
Marley Bonnichsen was also upset when she heard the news.
"I was sad and shocked," Marley Bonnichsen said. "It's really unfortunate."
Veiga said that even though volunteering is not about money, the termination of SIS is unfortunate.
"We did appreciate that the government was recognizing us and compensating us for our time and our studies," Veiga said. "And it's a shame that the program has stopped, because it helped a lot of students."
Veiga said the SJCs were encouraged to ask their congresspersons to reconsider funding the program.
Marley Bonnichsen said that the effect of SIS at UP has been positive and significant.
"Compassion, heart changes, those kinds of impacts are incredible," she said.
