Community College of Rhode IslandTRIO program funding secure
On June 9, the U.S. House Labor-Health and Human Services committee voted to reject proposed cuts to federally-funded TRIO programs. The budget cuts would have impacted programs for disadvantaged students such as CCRI-based Educational Talent Search and Access to Opportunity, the Rhode Island Children’s Crusade’s Gear-Up and Rhode Island College’s Upward Bound.
In February, when the proposed cuts were announced by the Bush administration, these organizations collaborated with Sen. Jack Reed to host a press conference at CCRI’s Providence campus protesting the cuts and explaining the possible negative impacts. After Reed kicked off the press conference, each organization’s administrators gave brief remarks. The highlight, however, was the testimonial from past and present recipients of each program’s services. Dozens of concerned community members attended the press conference, and the media took notice.
Dennis Moore, Assistant to the President, praised the collaborative efforts. “Congratulations to all involved,” he said, “especially to Philomena Fayanjuola, Tracy Karasinski and their staffs. The effort involved in making this issue public was a tremendous credit to CCRI and a fine example of citizenship in action.”
