If I had less than $8.00 a day to spend on food, I'd have zero energy, no motivation to go to class, and I'd be a grump.
How can the Ontario government put students below the poverty line? We are responsible for paying rent, paying for school, paying for food, etc.
I don't think anybody, whether student or not, should be forced to limit their meal options as well as their sources for nutrients because of any assistance program. I'm not on OSAP but I have a feeling that if I applied, I'd get rejected. The Ontario government expects students to save about $2700.00 from summer earnings. I saved just under double of that. Both of my parents work, and I have a part-time job throughout the school year (though it's only two hours a week).
With that being said, I still find myself looking for more money. Throughout the school year, I am always on a strict budget. I never by anything full price, I live on my meal plan (unfortunately), and I pick up groceries when I go home on the weekend.
I guess I'm lucky because I don't have to experience the stress OSAP provides for some students, but it still frustrates me.
Students from Brock University, the University of Western Ontario, and Laurier University are starting a blog/video blog to highlight the problems OSAP is provoking. They are also going to put emphasis on the fact that the Ontario government hasn't increased the amount of money students receive in four years.
Though they have issued a number of grants that students don't have to pay back, the government is screwing over more people than they think! I, for example, couldn't apply for a $150.00 Textbook & Technology Grant, that I received last year without being on OSAP, because I wasn't on OSAP this year.
That is the least of my problems, but it is a factor. Instead of saving $150.00 like I had last year, I'm out the money that OSAP could have provided for me because they decided that only people on the program were worth it.
Just remember OSAP, most students really dislike you.
4 comments:
This situation is similar as to what is happening in my school. They don't limit the cost or anything. They're just controlling on what food we're consuming.
I AM SO JEALOUS that your school has a meal plan!!! i spend 50-70 dollars a week on groceries. since my family lives so far away i can go home every weekend :(
meal plans would be so helpful and a lot cheaper then buying groceries.
Thank you, for your advice on the yoga pose. A morbid name, yes, but it will make me focus on breathing and stillness, hopefully. Yet to put it into practice, but thank you.
Ugh, student finance. The system here is not much better. I qualify as 'poor', and receive around £3500 a year that I do not pay back, as well as loans to cover my fees and living expenses, because my father earns very little money each year, the same amount as the student whose mother has so much money that she does not need to work. The student whose mother has to work to feed her children and pay the rent on her house misses out on a lot of this money, because her mother works so much to pay her bills, with little left over, that she qualifies as 'rich'.
I am one of the lucky ones. My parents earn enough for them, whilst not earning enough for me. Last year, I had a weekly budget after paying rent, of between £70-140 a week. I think the jobless and those on benefit receive £30 a week.
Finance is ridiculous.
I hate money.
Rant over.
xo
Hey! i can feel your frustration in your post and i hope the situation gets sorted out!
As im from across the pond i guess i can't really have an opinion as im not sure on what's going on!
Thanks for your post on my blog, it was great of you to take the time and effort and after reading i did smile.
I know my 21st will be great, and like you said, New York will always be there!
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