Certain majors are treated like they’re worth less than others.
At noon, the sun beat down on three University of Florida students who were the only people sticking out in the sea of tall weeds, colorful paint stains and concrete.
On Feb. 28, Alondra Arce was scrolling through Facebook when she saw the post. After mindlessly looking at memes for a few hours, this news made her breath catch. A new restrictive financial aid bill, Senate bill 86 (SB86), had been proposed.
“I saw it in the Orlando Sentinel and one other news site that I don’t remember,” she said.
SB 86, Student Financial Aid, is a bill that was proposed by Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley on Feb. 21.
“Beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year and thereafter, student eligibility for state financial aid programs will be limited to 60 hours unless or until a student is enrolled in a program that is on the list of market-driven degree programs,” a press release on the bill stated.
Arce scoured the internet with a fine-toothed combing looking for more information on the bill. She felt like Neo in “The Matrix” when he took the red pill. Scarily aware of everything that was happening around, her while everyone else remained blissfully ignorant.
Neither Baxley nor the bill itself has given an example of the “market-driven degree programs” that will receive the full 120 hours of Bright Futures funding. Instead, the bill states that each major will be evaluated on a yearly basis to determine its eligibility for financial aid rewards.
“As taxpayers, we should all be concerned about subsidizing degrees that just lead to debt, instead of the jobs our students want and need,” he said in a press release. “We encourage all students to pursue their passions, but when it comes to taxpayer-subsidized education, there needs to be a link to our economy, and that is the goal of this legislation.”
According to Arce, the statement was a cop-out to hide the true agenda of the bill which to her is another attempted attack on the humanities. Arce wanted to protest the bill. But she was alone. There was no activist group, no campaigning community, no interested journalist, just Arce, a second-year sociology student, alone on her phone in bed.
“I realized this was big. No one, not even current students, are safe from this bill. You can’t put a numerical value on certain majors,” she said.
So, Arce kicked into action. She organized a protest, contacted the news, raised money for the painting supplies and designed the mural to be painted on the 34th Street Wall.
On Sunday, Arce was standing in front of a section of the 34th Street Wall, a roller dripping white paint down her arm. Her brown hair moved every few minutes in the sporadic breeze. Sweating, she wiped her forehead as Jakob Weisgal and Riley Muller helped to smooth over the area. Each going over the imperfections with small painter’s brushes crouching down low and reaching up to the sun respectively.
Muller, a third-year dance and international studies student, is afraid that some students will have to drop out of UF if the bill is passed.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s definitely been something to think about. This bill is trying to discourage people from majoring in certain studies by threatening to put them in debt,” she said.
Weisgal, a second-year statistics student, said that he doesn’t believe he will be directly affected, but wants to stand in solidarity with all UF students.
“We need to stand up for what’s right,” he said. “It [Bright Futures] helps so many kids come to UF. Taking it away from students is not right. They worked their butts off to earn it and if you work hard you should have it, plain and simple.”
As they stood off to the side, in search of a sliver of shade as protection from the aggressive sun, a few cars whizzed by and honked.
“That’s why I wanted to put it [the mural] here,” Arce said. “Hundreds of people drive by 34th Street every day. It’s the perfect place to reach as many people in Gainesville as possible.”
Oscar Santiago, a first-year political science student, and Taylor Callaway, a first-year nursing student, both turned the corner at the end of the street and strolled up to meet the group for the 2 p.m. slot. The chalky background now dry, each of the five students picked up a spray paint can, took one last look at the design and pushed down on the nozzle.
“I’m here because I want to bring more awareness to the important issue that people don’t know about,” Santiago said.
According to Santiago, SB86 will have a negative impact on students and universities in Florida if passed.
Callaway, 19, has seen firsthand the benefits of Bright Futures.
“My adoptive brother was able to go to the University of Alabama because of Bright Futures,” she said. “He came from a low-income area and I saw how much Bright Futures has helped him to change his lifestyle. It couldn’t have happened without it [Bright Futures], college is way too expensive.”
As the spray paint dripped down the wall like raindrops and the fumes permeated the air, a man ran across four lanes of traffic to get a closer look at the design.
Arman Tabarestani, a fourth-year biomedical engineering student, asked about the mural.
“I heard a little bit about the bill, but honestly I don’t know,” he said. “I searched up more on the internet, and I looked at the bill, but it wasn’t very specific. I saw you guys from my apartment and decided to walk over.”
The finished product was a take on the Bright Futures logo. A stark white background with a vibrant yellow half sun filled with the words “Save Our Bright Futures.” Underneath that, in black a contrast to the green and blue letters above, two hashtags, “#StopSB86” and “#KeepOurFuturesBright,” with a clear message.
Arce hopes the Florida senate reconsiders the SB86.
Update: The bill was passed by a vote of 5-4 by the Florida Education Committee Tuesday.