In an admirable move, students emerged from the East Hill bubble earlier this month to rally members of Congress to advocate for additional financial aid, specifically in the form of funding for the Pell Grant program. We were glad to see that despite budget cuts across the University, Cornell agreed to sponsor this trip, bringing to the forefront some of the most pressing roadblocks standing in the way of equal access to education in this country.

The Student Aid Lobbying Trip addressed a number issues that deserve national attention and helped put a human face on the struggle to afford higher education in this harsh economic climate. Over the past several decades, funding for the Pell Grant program — which is made available to assist low-income families in paying for college — has remained stagnant, significantly limiting the purchasing power of grant money.

The Pell Grant program was born in 1976 to provide grants that are quantified based on a student’s expected family contribution and the cost of attending college. At its inception, the grant covered about 72 percent of the average cost of attending a four-year public school and 35 percent of the average cost of a four-year private school. In recent years, however, the Pell Grant has covered merely 40 percent of the average cost of public schools and a percentage that falls in the teens in covering the cost of private schools, according to the American Council on Education.

The Obama Administration took a critical first step by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,731 to $5,350 as part of its economic stimulus package. There’s no doubt in the strong correlation between education and the economy — and in attempts to rebuild the financial structure of the country, the government cannot ignore the role of higher education. But the increase was not enough, as was professed by the 15 students who made it out to Washington.

At Cornell, 1,856 students currently receive Pell Grants — a number that has been on the steady decline in recent years as a result of inadequate government funding for the program. The Sun reported in 2008 enrollment of Pell Grant recipients at Cornell has declined by over 25 percent as the number of high school students in the nation who are eligible for the program has increased by 40 percent since 2000, according to the Postsecondary Education Opportunity newsletter.

As the nation slumps lower into an economic recession, Congress must continue to increase its commitment to the Pell Grant to ensure that funding remains consistent with the rate of inflation and the rising cost of college. Pell Grants are important in that they support the neediest of students, as those who receive Pell Grants nationally come from families whose median income is less than $20,000.

Cornell is dependent on government-assisted financial aid programs in order to commit itself to economic diversity. With an increase in aid from programs such as the Pell Grant, the University has greater funds to allocate to broader-reaching financial aid initiatives.

As Cornell and other institutions of higher education continue to struggle to commit to financial aid in the ensuing economic crisis, Congress must up its own obligation to higher education in this country. By tackling the issue firsthand, students provided a new perspective — one that is free from the filter of party politics that often obstructs the future of financial aid.