[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.91″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”2px|0px|8px|0px” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_video _builder_version=”3.19.7″ src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/FNjfx_yoQ80″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
Cleopatra Shabazz, a senior broadcast journalism student, is at the end of her run as a college undergraduate.<\/span><\/p>\n But the Simpsonville native will graduate in May with roughly $35,000 in debt and she wishes she could\u2019ve had additional financial assistance. She hopes South Carolina legislators would approve increased funding for higher education.<\/span><\/p>\n As a part of the social media team on Carolina Day, a day where USC officials, lawmakers and students pushed for higher funding, she assisted in the promotion of the proposed Higher Education Opportunity Act.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think this is incredible,\u201d Cleopatra Shabazz said Wednesday. \u201cI think with Carolina Day it\u2019s just emphasizing that you should invest in higher education because it\u2019s worth investing in the future. We\u2019re your future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to a report in The State newspaper, 45% of USC freshmen take out loans averaging $8,048. That amount can increase to $32,192 in four years. <\/span><\/p>\n Shabazz balanced courses with\u00a0making money\u00a0through\u00a0the university\u2019s federal work-study program, building up her savings account in order to be stable after graduation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI had scholarships, grant money, came from a single parent home so I had help, but I kind of felt that I didn\u2019t have enough help. I couldn\u2019t just not work. It\u2019s not easy just asking your mom can you set aside a couple thousand to give me for x-y-z. It just doesn\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n During Carolina Day, Paula Harper Bethea, chief advancement officer and special advisor to USC President Harris Pastides, spoke about how the bill will not only create a sustainability around funding for the university but for all of the higher education in South Carolina.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis is just the beginning. We\u2019ve got to do more and we know that. I do think that that will make a huge difference. Now does that mean that we\u2019re not going to be able to advocate for more moving forward? No,\u201d Bethea said. \u201cBut it is, for the first time in about 18 years, sustainable funding that the universities and colleges can depend on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pastides calls the act a \u201chistoric reinvestment\u201d by the state, as it will ensure the success of the next generation of South Carolinians. Despite her upcoming graduation, Shabazz was more than happy to assist the social media team on Carolina Day to promote the bill for future students.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTelling the legislators that to work hard and invest in us, then the world, the future is just going to be brighter,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One USC student hopes the Legislature tackles the thorny issue of funding for higher education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":16929,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,62],"tags":[513,517,190],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16891"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16891"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16927,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16891\/revisions\/16927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}