Amid the misery wrought by the pandemic and a deep recession, Oregon colleges are handing out a little happiness -- in $3,000 increments.
Portland State University is in the process of giving away more than $7 million to students,
In Eugene, the University of Oregon is still devising its plan to disburse $8 million.
Oregon State has already dispensed about $7.5 million and is looking for deserving students to take home the last $295,000.
The money is coming from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion economic relief package signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. The legislation allocated more than $12 billion of the stimulus for colleges all over the country.
In all, 73 colleges and community colleges in Oregon will divvy up over $116 million for emergency cash grants for qualifying students. Even students at the state’s comparatively well-heeled private schools will have a chance at the cash grants. The University of Portland got $2.67 million, spokesman Michael Lewellen said.
Students have to show evidence that they’re in need. Some schools will rely on students’ federal financial aid application and the “expected family contribution” calculation. The EFC, as it is known, is a measure of a family’s financial strength. At PSU, administrators will approve applications from students with family contributions of $10,000 or less.
Students must also convince administrators their financial distress stems from the pandemic.
“Our students are a resilient bunch,” said Chuck Knepfle, PSU vice president for enrollment management. “But at this point, many of them are really struggling.”
In Corvallis, students descended on Oregon State’s administration building practically before officials could even begin getting the word out about the program.
“The need is so great, I think people were right on top of it,” OSU spokesman Steve Clark said. “Students were engaged in multiple jobs, that’s nothing new. But most of the campus jobs are gone.”
Even after giving away the $7.7 million it was allocated, OSU officials figure their students need an additional $20 million to remain in school, Clark said.
Jeremy Maly and Julie Nhem know plenty about need.
Both are PSU students, both are parents, both are out of work.
Maly, 38, was hoping to graduate next fall with a quadruple major in history, arts and letters, liberal studies and social sciences. But he’s lost two jobs at brewpubs in recent months. The first unexpectedly shut down, the other was forced to close in March after Gov. Kate Brown issued her stay-at-home order.
Nhem, 41, is a film studies major whose job on a television film crew came to an end when production was halted.
Maly’s primary pursuit was no longer his Latin or Greek language classes, it was keeping his family fed and housed. Like many Oregonians, he’s been unable to negotiate his way through the overwhelmed Oregon Employment Department to get unemployment benefits. And he’s still waiting for the $1,200 bonus check -- another stimulus bonus contained in the CAREs act -- to arrive from the federal government.
Nhem has fallen two months behind on her rent. Her landlord gave her three months forbearance. But he’s made it clear in July he expects her to cover the current rent and the three months of back rent.
Maley and Nhem both applied for the emergency grants. He got $2,850. She got $2,950.
“I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for a long time,” Nhem said. “This money has given me some peace of mind.”
Jeff Manning
971-263-5164
jmanning@oregonian.com
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