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April 16, 2020 | Vol. 94, No. 26
Students to receive funds from CARES Act Daniella Tebib News Editor dtebib@murraystate.edu After many college students were left out of those who would receive a $1,200 stimulus check, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act into law allocating over $6 million to Murray State to give to students through emergency grants and to help the University recover from the changes made because of COVID-19. A $2 trillion stimulus bill was passed last month which included $1,200 stimulus checks for those who make less than the limit. However, many Americans did not make the cut for the requirements to receive a check including immigrants without Social Security numbers, some disabled adults and most college students. Howe ver, some students in need may receive help from their institutions through the CARES Act. In the act, $14 billion was allocated for higher
education. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on Thursday, April 9, over $6 billion of the $14 billion will go to institutions to give to students impacted by the pandemic through emergency financial aid grants. The grants are meant to help students with course materials, technology, food, housing, health care and child care. “ What ’s best for students is at the center of every decision we make,” DeVos said. “That’s why we prioritized getting funding out the door quickly to college students who need it most. We don’t want unmet financial needs due to the coronavirus to derail their learning.” According to a press release from the Department of Education, in order for institutions to access the funds available to them, institutions must sign a certificate affirming they will distribute the funds in accordance with applicable law. The amount of money each university or college will receive is determined by a formula detailed in the CARES Act. It is based on the number of full-time students who are eligible for the Pell Grant, the total population of the school
and the number of students who were not enrolled full-time online before the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on this algorithm, Murray State will receive $6,270,769. Of the more than $6 million the University will receive, a minimum of $3,135,385 must be awarded to the emergency financial aid grants for students. According to the Murray State website there were 9,569 students enrolled in fall 2019. If the University administration distributed the funds equally, each student would receive $327. It is important to note that the University has not released how the funds will be disbursed. President Bob Jackson said 50% of the federal stimulus funds will be used for need-based grants for students, which is the minimum of $3,135,385 that is required to be used for emergency grants for students. “Murray S tate Universit y is ver y grateful for the stimulus funds from the federal government in order to assist our students with additional financial aid and to help offset millions of dollars of new expenses and lost revenue
due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jackson said. Jackson also said the University has set aside additional need-based scholarships for students. The University’s Racers Give Campaign raised over $217,000 for need-based scholarships. The Murray State Promise tuition program will also help some students in need. The Murray State Promise program provides scholarship assistance to help pay for tuition and other mandatory fees if the student’s combined federal, state, institutional and private aid total is less than the cost of tuition. However, online fees, course fees, tuition above 15 hours and other costs including housing, meals and books are not covered. First-time freshmen and new transfers may be eligible for the program. Other qualifications include residency in Kentucky, admission to Murray State, eligibility for the Pell Grant and KEES scholarship, completion of the Murray State General Scholarship application, completion of FAFSA and enrollment and completion of at least 12 hours each fall and spring semester.
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see CARES page 2
Bryce Anglin/TheNews
Student reflects on return from study abroad program Grant Dillard Staff Writer gdillard@murraystate.edu Several branches of the Murray State community have been affected severely by the COVID-19 pandemic, including study abroad student Camryn Clift. Clift was studying abroad in Spain this semester, but was forced to leave two months early because of the coronavirus. Clift returned to the United States on March 12, just 24 hours before a 15-day quarantine was issued in the city she was staying in. “In the weeks leading up to my departure, the news coverage in Spain had slowly shifted to basically only talking about the coronavirus,” Clift said. “My host parents began to talk about it more and more at our meals together, and were increasingly worried about the progression of the disease. My host mom had already begun to stock up on grocery supplies.
It’s important to note that these supplies included water, because water is a limited resource in Spain, and so she had to make sure they had plenty in case they weren’t allowed to leave the apartment for a while.” The night before leaving Spain, Clift went to a grocery store to purchase snacks for her family. The store was a madhouse, she said, and packed with people and empty shelves everywhere. For Clift, there was a sense of urgency once the number of cases in Spain reached a certain point. She checked in on the news as the situation in Europe became more serious, and had been in constant contact with Murray State’s Education Abroad staff. Clift said the Education Abroad Office would have supported her decision to return home if she had wanted to, even before exchange students in Europe were required to return to the United States. “I had gone through a tough roller coaster of trying to decide for myself if I wanted to
Photo courtesy of Camryn Clift Camryn Clift, junior from Princeton, Kentucky, adjusts to online courses and her new life at home after returning from her study abroad trip in Alicante, Spain.
come home over the course of several weeks, based upon news coverage and the response of other American universities to the situation in Europe,” Clift said. “The turning point for me was when cases in Spain doubled overnight between Sunday and Monday
of the week that I came home. It was at that point that I confirmed with the Education Abroad staff that I wanted to come home.
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see STUDY ABROAD page 2