Daily Lumina News 051623

Patrick Ben III always knew he’d go to college, even though his parents hadn’t. But when he made it to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the shortcomings of his high school on Chicago’s South Side became evident.
As states push back against diversity programs and the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to eliminate affirmative action, a central fact remains: The equity divide between white and Black Americans who aspire to college educations is getting worse.

Student loan borrowers who stand to benefit the most from income-driven repayment plans are less likely to know about them, according to a just-released report from New America.
Under a proposed plan from the U.S. Department of Education, IDR minimum monthly loan payments for student-debt holders earning less than $30,000 a year could drop to $0. Ensuring that the most vulnerable borrowers can access this repayment relief must involve more action from the higher education community, the report states.

West Virginia University in Morgantown is known among students for its small-town feel, welcoming environment, and sense of community. “You can’t get lost in Morgantown," says Mikel Hager, a senior and exercise-physiology major.
Despite being a rural campus—and located in a region plagued by the opioid crisis and affected by mining’s environmental and economic challenges—WVU has found ways to attract students from inside and outside the state.

Demand for affordable college housing is fierce and dollars limited among California's three systems of higher education.
Although campus dorms and apartments have long been a feature of University of California and Cal State campuses, the more recent foray into housing by community colleges is prompting questions about how—or even if—those projects should be prioritized for state money.

Colleges and universities in Florida are no longer allowed to spend their cash on most diversity, equity, and inclusion programs under a slate of higher education reforms that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law yesterday.
Florida’s higher education system is now set for significant changes in the coming months, with university leaders poised for a widescale review of courses and majors offered to students.

When Virginia Military Institute announced last month that its commencement speaker today would be Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the college’s superintendent released a statement praising the state’s top executive—and the school itself.
But the visit by Youngkin—who, as governor, is technically VMI’s commander in chief and has been an outspoken foe of equity initiatives at Virginia’s public schools—comes at an especially stressful moment for the nation’s oldest state-supported military college.