About two weeks ago, the entire Fordham community received an email from Lesley Massiah, associate vice president for government and urban affairs. In the email, students were urged to support federal funding for Pell Grants and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG), which were just barely spared massive cuts as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The Act was passed mere hours before the United States nearly defaulted on its considerable loans in August.

"Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet," the email opines, and indeed Pell and SEOG are far from safe. One of the provisions of the Act was the establishment of a 12-member "Super Committee," comprising of equal numbers of senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle. This committee was then given the task of finding some $1.5 trillion in additional deficit decreases, through a combination of tax increases and spending cuts. If it fails to do so by Nov. 23, $1.2 trillion in spending cuts will automatically take place. Under these circumstances, it is quite possible that the Committee will cut Pell and SEOG funding significantly.

Fordham University students are major beneficiaries of such funding, which is considered the backbone of need-based financial aid at American colleges and universities; 1,799 Fordham students received in excess of $7.9 million in Pell Grants during the 2010-2011 academic year, and an additional 1,248 students received more than $2.1 million in SEOG funds. Pell Grants assist some 9.6 million American students in funding their increasingly necessary college degrees every year.

We at The Ram stand by financially disadvantaged students around the country and join the University administration in calling for the protection of these crucial grants.

Though the country is in dire financial straits, cutting Pell Grants is an ineffective solution that will do more harm than good, stunting the growth of the American workforce while failing to make any real progress on deficit reduction. For the 2012-2013 reward year, which is currently being budgeted, the United States Department of Education estimates that Pell Grants will cost the federal government some $36.1 billion. While this is an unimaginable number to most people, it comprises a tiny sliver of of the National Debt, just about 0.2 percent of the nearly $15 trillion deficit. Trying to cut the deficit by cutting Pell Grants is akin to trying to take down a large tree by snapping off a couple twigs.

Where does all the deficit come from? The largest contributors are defense and entitlement spending, especially healthcare programs. If real budget reform is to take place, the defense budget will need to be trimmed in a way that preserves national security, while programs like Social Security and Medicare will need to be reformed in a way that does not harm current beneficiaries of such programs.

This is where we come in. Today's students are tomorrow's taxpayers, and we will be inheriting massive debts with which we will need to somehow deal. This generation's voice is one that should be heard insofar as we will be the ones shouldering inconceivable amounts of debt. Changing government, fixing debt and preserving Pell Grants are all goals that require knowledge — knowledge such as the names of the people controlling our budgetary future, the fiscal state of the country and those at Fordham who are our liaison with these government entities.

Protecting Pell Grants and the future of higher education in this country are extraordinarily important. So is participating in our democracy and being aware of its current situation.

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The Ram's editorials are selected on a weekly basis, and are meant to reflect the editorial board's view on a particular issue.