Arizona State University

Arizona State University.

Jessica Antonio had relied on the library at Arizona State University to access a computer, printer and internet to complete her assignments. But when it closed due to the pandemic, the Navajo student scrambled to get those supplies so she wouldn’t fall behind during her last semester as an undergrad. 

For a student on a tight budget, that meant making some sacrifices. 

Jessica Antonio

Jessica Antonio is part of a group of students demanding that the Arizona State University release the CARES Act funds for students immediately and make them available for spring semester students.

“I had to pay for my internet so I skipped breakfast for two weeks because that money had to come from somewhere," said Antonio, who graduated from ASU this spring and is planning to continue at the university as a grad student next semester.

Antonio is not alone. Across the country, cash-strapped students were pushed to the edge when the coronavirus pandemic began. In March, Congress passed a federal coronavirus stimulus package that included a lifeline for students. 

“The overall goal of the CARES Act was to deliver roughly $14 billion to colleges and universities as quickly as possible,” said Ben Miller, vice president of postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress, a public policy research and advocacy organization. "That money went out into three buckets, the biggest of which was $12 billion was awarded to all the colleges in the country based on a formula that took into account their number of low-income students and their number of students who are not low-income.” 

ASU is set to receive one of the largest allocations in the state and country  — $63.5 million — at least half of which must go to students. To receive the money, schools have to turn in distribution plans to the U.S. Department of Education. Other Arizona institutions have already done this, received the money and began distributing it in May. Grand Canyon University even elected to give the full allocation it received to its students. 

But not ASU. It told KJZZ in a statement that it plans to distribute 10% of $32 million allocated for students sometime this summer and release most of the remaining funds in the fall.

This decision has left Antonio and other spring semester students feeling abandoned by their school. 

“We feel forgotten,” she said. “We feel left out and we feel ignored. And we feel like ASU doesn’t care about us.”

ASU said in its statement that in the spring 2020 semester, it distributed about $566 million in total financial aid, helping 63,000 students. 

"Students who need help can raise their hand to the ASU president, to the dean of students, to individual deans or faculty members, or by calling the Financial Aid office. “Every day, we have conversations with students to determine how we can help them with the many tools we have available,” said Melissa Pizzo, associate vice president for Enrollment Services. 

Jessica Antonio

A group of students voice their frustration on the lack of quick distribution of CARES Act funding by ASU on a recent Zoom meeting with administrators. They've sent a letter to school leaders calling on them to act faster.

Students questioned how effective ASU has been at helping students at a recent Zoom meeting with ASU administrators organized by Antonio. 

She said she was only offered a loan when she called ASU for help, which she declined because she didn’t want to plunge herself in debt. Others hadn’t heard about the help until previous student meetings and said the aid wasn’t well advertised. They continued calling on ASU to release its CARES Act funding. 

“We as Indigenous students shouldn’t even have to ask for this. We shouldn’t even have to beg," said Savannah Nelson with the Alliance of Indigenous People student organization at ASU. She identifies as a member of the Navajo Nation. 

“If we are going to represent ASU, then we also need ASU to step up and represent us,” said Eric DeLorme, who identified himself as a Navajo grad student. 

Distribution Challenges 

Surveys by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) found in May, nearly 70% of 585 respondents hadn't distributed the money out to students. In June that number dropped to 6% of 237 respondents.

Megan Coval, NASFAA’s vice president of policy and federal relations, that colleges have struggled with distribution because of rapidly changing guidance from the education department. It initially said the money could be given to all but later disqualified undocumented students, international students and others.

Daniel Lopez

Daniel Lopez, a senator with the Undergraduate Student Government of Tempe, introduced a resolution, which passed on June 27, 2020, that calls on the university to release the full $63.5 million from the CARES Act to students.

Daniel Lopez, a senator with the Undergraduate Student Government at the Tempe campus, doesn’t think that’s what’s happening at ASU because university President Michael Crow has previously said the money is designed for college completion. 

“This isn’t like a failure in the sense that, ‘Oh they just are really slow in getting their plan in,'” he said. “To me and to everyone else that I’ve talked to about this issue, it seems like they are essentially trying to tactically spend the money over a longer period of time to maximize student retention.”

Miller said ASU is able to decide how fast it will distribute the money and which students to include because aside from guidance from the education department, schools have wide discretion on how they should distribute the funds. 

“There’s little besides shame that can be done to stop them because it’s not illegal," he said. 

Students Raising Their Voices 

Antonio's group has sent a letter to administrators calling on them to extend the CARES Act student grants to those enrolled in the spring semester. On Saturday, USG-Tempe passed a resolution asking ASU to do this in addition to extending the funds to students who were enrolled in the spring and summer semesters but dropped out, and helping DACA, undocumented, international students and others excluded from the CARES Act with its own funds. 

ASU said in a statement that it's looking forward to engaging with various student government leaders in the coming weeks and months to hear their concerns and receive their input. It did not say whether it's considering following USG-Tempe's resolution. 

Regardless of ASU’s final decision, the choices it's made since the pandemic began have changed the way Antonio feels about the school.

“I’m not proud to be a Sun Devil," she said. 

More Stories From KJZZ

• Group Asking ASU To Make COVID-19 Grants Available To More Students
• Some Student Loans Helped By CARES Act

Arizona State University

Arizona State University says it plans to disperse CARES Act funds for students later this summer and fall. In the meantime, it says it has given nearly $600 million in financial aid to 63,000 students in the spring.