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New Mexico approved free college and people are calling on all states to follow their lead

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham/Facebook

New Mexico has passed the most wide-ranging free college legislation of any U.S. state.

The student loan crisis that has been brewing for decades has reached a fever pitch in the U.S. The cost of college tuition has been on a steep upward trajectory since 1980, far outpacing wages and resulting in many student borrowers being buried in mountains of debt they have little chance of repaying.

In fact, many students end up not making a dent in their loans, even after paying on them for years. One report found that even among students who made voluntary payments to their Navient loans during the student loan payment freeze, 63% were "underwater," meaning they owe more on their loans than what they originally borrowed. Some even owe more than 150% of the original loan amount. And these are people who are actively trying to pay down their loans, making payments when they technically didn't even have to.

It's truly a crisis, which is why we saw such a push for student loan forgiveness being put on the agenda during the 2020 election. That hasn't happened, but at least one state is taking a big step toward mitigating the college debt problem.

New Mexico has passed a bill that makes all in-state public and tribal colleges—both 2-year and 4-year—free for all residents, as long as they enroll in at least six credits and maintain a GPA of 2.5. That means residents can take classes part-time or full-time without worrying about tuition.

The New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship Act, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law March 4, makes New Mexico the first state to waive tuition for all public colleges and universities, regardless of a family's income. Some states offer free community college programs and a handful of states have state-sponsored scholarships for some students at state universities. New Mexico has just upped the game, waiving tuition across the board.

And people are loving it.

The signing of the law was received as "good news" by those who advocate for affordable higher education.

​Some asked why all states or the federal government don't do the same.

It's not an unheard-of idea, by any means. More than a handful of countries in Europe and some in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia offer free college education.

In her speech given prior to signing the law, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham explained how the law will help provide flexibility and opportunity to people from all different backgrounds and circumstances and remove so many of the barriers that prevent people from getting the education they need or desire.

"College is too damn expensive," she said.

Indeed, it is. Congrats to New Mexico for this historic move to make higher education more accessible for everyone.

Watch Gov. Grisham speak at the 20:30 mark:

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Frat boys made a racist video that went viral. Many think they're getting off too easily.

*trigger warning: this post alludes to sensitive, racist content.

A disturbing video starring University of Georgia fraternity members went viral last week, reopening an important discussion about racism and inclusivity.

“Pick my cotton, b****!” a seemingly intoxicated University of Georgia college coed jeers, while hitting one of his pals laying under the covers in a bed. The group laughs hysterically as the phrase is repeated more than once. “You aren’t using the right words," chides one of the boys, to which the ring leader excitedly responds “Pick my cotton, nig***!”

This blatantly racist, 30-second encounter was recorded by four members of the southern university’s Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and started going viral on social media on March 22. Sadly, it’s just the latest example of flagrant racism caught on camera involving members of a national fraternal organization.

Hours after the release of the video, both the fraternity’s national headquarters and UGA’s StudentGovernment Association responded appropriately to the situation.

They revealed that the Xi-Lambda chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon had been suspended effective immediately, and also confirmed an investigation was underway regarding the boys in the video.  

The fraternity’s national headquarters noted they were "disgusted, appalled and angered by the remarks shown in the video. TKE will not tolerate any actions such as these that would bedefined as racist, discriminatory and/or offensive." They specified that while the incident did not take place on the chapter’s premises, the four boys in the video were promptly expelled from the organization.

The University itself did respond to the student government, also confirming that it “condemns racism in the strongest terms.” They continued, “Racism has no place on our campus. We will continue our efforts to promote a welcoming and supportive learning environment for our students, faculty and staff.”

In order to take the first step in opening up the conversation about racism between students and administrators, the school announced on Monday morning they would be hosting a discussion about racism on campus dubbed “In Solidarity.”

But is that response enough? Some students don’t think so.

It’s possible the University needs some more time to formally investigate the incident before taking more severe action against the individuals depicted in the viral video, for legal purposes. But in general, are fraternity and university officials really doing enough in response to such heinous and despicable act of racism, considering that these types of instances seem to be a reoccurring theme in colleges and universities across the country?

“It is just unfathomable that stuff like this is going on at the school I go to, learn at and attend. We are extremely outraged and offended by the ignorance on a modern-day college campus,” Obinna Ibebunjo, a senior and member of the historically black fraternity Omega Psi Phi at UGA, told the NewYork Times.

“They were suspended from the fraternity but they were not reprimanded by the school, so it was a slap on the wrist. We think colleges are moving to a more liberal state and being more progressive, but just the fact that you would record it and post it is extremely ridiculous.”

The university’s NAACP chapter also formally responded to the “inappropriate and derogatory” video, blaming the educational institute. “This video only touches the surface of the long history of racism that has existed on this campus and within the state of Georgia. We hope that the university will take action,” they wrote in a statement released Saturday.

This is far from the first incidence of racism in the Greek system.

While it’s likely racism has been prevalent in the Greek system dating back to its origin, it has become more publicized in recent years. With the advent of media and the fact that almost everything gets caught on camera, it’s nearly impossible to sweep these instances under the rug these days.

In 2015, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s University of Oklahoma chapter was shut down and two students were expelled when a shocking video of fist-pumping students chanting, "There will never be a ni**** at SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me," made the rounds.

Additionally, just last year 15 members of Syracuse University’s Theta Tau engineering fraternity were suspended and the fraternity was expelled after the release of a video in which they used racial and anti-Semitic slurs and mocked people with physical and intellectual disabilities. The students went on to appeal the suspension, however, the decision was upheld in January of this year.

So how can we prevent blatant racism in our youth? It’s starts with having perhaps uncomfortable, but necessary conversations about discrimination.

It’s clear that we aren’t doing enough as a society to educate our children that any racist, discriminatory and blatant hate acts are not okay. While it might seem that we have made great strides in regard to inclusivity, we still have a long way to go.

While taking an aggressive and unapologetically strict approach to disciplining any students who engage in such acts is a step in the right direction, they would no doubt happen less if kids learned they were wrong long before leaving home for college. Taking preventative measures — possibly by opening up the conversation about inclusivity when kids are younger and more impressionable — is crucial in order to keep situations like this from happening again and again.  

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If you think Greek life is all hazing and hangovers, this Muslim sorority wants to prove you wrong.

Greek life might be an old tradition in college campuses across the country, but a new dawn is emerging for one sorority in Texas.

Mu Delta Alpha is perhaps the only active Muslim sorority in the United States and the first to be established in Texas. It was founded in 2016 at the University of Texas at Dallas by Samira Maddox. Within a year, it opened a beta chapter at the University of Texas at Austin, and it has seen tremendous interest and growth since then.

Another Muslim sorority, Gamma Gamma Chi, had started to organize in 2005 in Virginia and Georgia, but the creation now of Mu Delta Alpha seems to have taken a quick hold. The beta chapter, which has a purpose of empowering women through professional development, received more than 100 pledges and inducted 10 new members in 2017.

This is a huge deal. Why? Well, it comes down to one thing: stereotypes.

Joining a sorority or fraternity has often been considered to be a rite of passage for certain kinds of college students. For decades, Greek life has been associated with secret societies, excessive drinking, wild party nights, and other unsavory behaviors.

But because practicing Muslims do not consume alcohol and are discouraged from premarital sexual relationships (even kissing), a sorority rooted in Islamic identity provides an opportunity for students to redefine what it means to be an American Muslim in a sorority.

Nisa Sheikh, the beta chapter’s financial officer in 2018, told The Daily Texan that Mu Delta Alpha is all about normalizing their identities as Muslim women into the college scene.

"The narrative right now is that Muslim women are oppressed and can’t pursue careers," Sheikh said. "When you have a professional Muslim sorority come up, it breaks that stereotype, and people have to reconsider what they believe."

One way the sorority is changing the narrative around Muslim women is through simple education and tweeting. The UT-Dallas chapter has often tweeted about powerful and remarkable women in western pop culture like model Halima Aden and Islamic history like Fatima al-Fihri. Fihri founded The University of Al Quaraouiyine, the first and oldest operating university in the world, in Morocco.

The sorority has certainly gotten a lot of media attention, including many local news affiliates, all of which its members consider as progress in their goal of getting the public to change their perception about Muslim women.

Mu Delta Alpha is not the only Muslim greek life organization in the country.

Alpha Lambda Mu, named after the first three Arabic letters — Alif Lam Meem — mentioned in 92 chapters of the Quran, was the first national Muslim fraternity.

It was founded at UT-Dallas in 2013, and since then, three more Alpha Lambda Mu chapters have been established across the country at the University of California at San Diego, Cornell University, and the University of Toledo.

One year ago today ALM and thousands of men in the Dallas Fort worth area came together to stand against domestic...

Posted by Alif Laam Meem - Alpha Lambda Mu Fraternity on Sunday, March 23, 2014

Like Mu Delta Alpha, the fraternity has gained wide coverage for its founding and its volunteer work in charitable causes like aiding refugee families and supporting survivors of domestic violence. In addition to features from The New York Times and HuffPost, Alpha Lambda Mu has been the subject of a documentary, "Brotherhood: America’s Favorite Muslim Fraternity."

Mu Delta Alpha and Alpha Lambda Mu aren’t only redefining the identities of young Muslim Americans. They also encourage each of us to examine how we perceive students involved in Greek life.

From "Legally Blonde" to "The House Bunny," sorority women are often depicted as dim-witted, boy-crazed Barbie dolls. In reality, women in sororities are some of the hardest-working and successful women in their fields. And while there have been innumerable scandals, there are men who join fraternities for the purpose of brotherhood and community service as well.

Mu Delta Alpha and Alpha Lambda Mu reminds us all of this. Moreover, they’re evoking an inspiring reminder that it is OK — even great — to be whoever we want to be. We shouldn’t let stereotypes, regardless of what background we come from, limit us from our fullest potential. We have the power to choose our own identity and future.

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Magic helped her survive homelessness. But scholarships helped her succeed in school.

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UCLA Optimists

It was just before Thanksgiving when then-high school junior Angela Sanchez and her father lost their home in Glendale, California.

A perfect storm of financial and family problems left her architect father unemployed, and the hardships soon led to eviction.

They slept in a car for the first few months, keeping up appearances of normalcy as best they could. Eventually, they found their way to a cold-weather shelter, then a family shelter.

[rebelmouse-image 19530515 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

But these were little more than places to sleep, and while it certainly helped to have a roof over their heads, it wasn’t enough to stop the stress of poverty and homelessness.

Despite it all, Sanchez did what she could to keep her grades — and her attendance — up. Her father had always taught her that education was incredibly important, and she had just started a new after-school club at the beginning of the year.

The theme of that club? Magic.

"A magician, by profession, is someone who is withholding knowledge," she explains.

And Sanchez's desire for hidden knowledge — to move beyond the hand that life had dealt her to experience something more — pushed her to succeed.

But just like magic, it would take a little know-how to get her there. That didn't stop her from trying, though.

[rebelmouse-image 19530516 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

From a young age, Sanchez was drawn to the history of magic and magicians.

Everything from witchcraft to voodoo to Harry Houdini — particularly the ways they all tied back to women’s roles in society. Women who practiced magic were historically condemned while men were revered. Even as magic became more theatrical, women were still relegated to the role of assistants.

The history of women in magic resonated with Sanchez's thirst for knowledge, particularly when the odds are stacked against you.

After all, even AP calculus is still a secret knowledge of the world.

[rebelmouse-image 19530517 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

But it wasn't easy. As her anxiety and uncertainty about the future got the best of her, even magic club began to fall apart her senior year, and calculus turned out to be an even greater struggle than she imagined.

Sanchez’s plummeting grades threatened the future she’d been looking forward to (one that, she hoped, would take her to UCLA).

That’s when she discovered School on Wheels, a nonprofit that offers tutoring support for children struggling with poverty and homelessness.

The nonprofit paired her with an astrophysics graduate student from Cal Tech.

"Making that connection was the best thing that ever happened to me while being homeless, and since then I have maintained a constant relationship with them," she says.

Her tutor not only offered her guidance in AP calculus, but he also gave her some "secret knowledge" to help unlock the mysterious realm of the college application process, a process that many underprivileged students are unsure of how to navigate.

A little support went a long way, and Sanchez was accepted to UCLA.

[rebelmouse-image 19530518 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

And by calling on that same tutor, Sanchez was also able to track down a variety of local community scholarships, and learned about the differences between need, merit, and passion-based support as she navigated her way through a pile of applications.

[rebelmouse-image 19530519 dam="1" original_size="1200x625" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

She secured enough scholarships to cover the cost of her education. But there were two in particular that meant more than money.

Sanchez received $10,000 through the Spirit of American Youth scholarship, awarded by L.A. developer and USC alum Rick Caruso.

"Having that scholarship was extremely important because I was able to request that money in different amounts over the course of my four years," she says, "So, I could fill in the gaps as I needed it."

[rebelmouse-image 19530520 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

She also received a UCLA scholarship from the Alumni Scholars Program and was supported by an alumnus named Craig Ehrlich.

Ehrlich not only doubled the value of Sanchez’s initial scholarship, but also turned out to be a crucial networking conduit for Sanchez's personal and professional relationships.

"More than just maintaining a relationship with my donor, I’ve also kept in touch with all the other scholarship recipients," she says. "When you're able to provide support for students like that, it's a game changer. It colors your whole experience."

[rebelmouse-image 19530521 dam="1" original_size="1200x636" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

That support helped Sanchez find tremendous success throughout her time at UCLA — and she used that opportunity to pay it forward.

During her sophomore year, Sanchez launched and organized a School on Wheels chapter at UCLA to help out other kids who were in the same tough spot that she had been just two years earlier.

"Our volunteers took care of everything from supplies to snacks to transportation," she explains. "We would go over to the shelters and group homes at night, and we would work there with the students."

[rebelmouse-image 19530522 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

When it came time to write her thesis for her history degree, Sanchez returned to a topic she knew well: the representation of women in magic history.

And thanks to the skills she learned in seeking out and applying for scholarships and grants, she was able to find the funding to travel around the country and continue her research through fellowships at other universities, too.

"If you can invest yourself into an area of extreme passion for you, everything else follows from there," she says.

The connections that she made — and the knowledge she discovered — helped Sanchez to secure a job after graduation.

After completing her bachelor’s in history, Sanchez stayed at UCLA to get her master’s in education. Along the way, she became interested in ECMC Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in L.A. that invests in programs to improve educational outcomes for students from underserved backgrounds.

[rebelmouse-image 19530523 dam="1" original_size="1200x624" caption="Image via UCLA/YouTube." expand=1]Image via UCLA/YouTube.

For some students — especially those who are at-risk or low-income — the pathway to success is mysterious enough that it may as well be magic.

But Sanchez’s story shows that scholarships can open the doorway to the tools that students need to make their dreams a reality.

Today, Sanchez continues to work as the program analyst for College Success at ECMC Foundation, helping students like the one she used to be.

She helps oversee and determine the efficiency for college support and scholarship programs that help out people in similar situations to the one she used to be in. Essentially, she's professionally giving advice about how to succeed in college like she did.

She’s also on the board at School on Wheels, and is a magician member/magic historian with The Academy of Magical Arts. She gave back to UCLA with a monetary donation last year and hopes to give again in the future.

"I’m hoping to foster opportunity for others," she says. "A lot of opportunity has been given to me, so I am responsible for creating the same experience for other students and scale it as far as I can."

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