Recession Puts Squeeze on Students

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Dec. 24, 2008 -- She'd finished her last final -- MAT 221: Elementary Probability and Statistics -- and returned to her dorm room on Syracuse University's South Campus. Between saying goodbye to everyone she knew here, taking finals and working her two jobs as a resident adviser and teacher's aide at a local private elementary school, she had let the empty boxes pile up in the back of her room.

Packing could wait. Dalan Dinh had three days until everything had to be boxed up and shipped home to California. One suitcase was packed and bulging out of its sides. That was all she could muster. Packing meant she had finally given in. Packing meant it was over.

"I don't even know how to do it," Dinh said. "I know exactly what I need to pack. I just really don't want to see my room empty. All these boxes have been here since Thanksgiving. I've been cleaning my shelves and giving stuff away.

"I just don't want to leave."

But eventually, Dinh had to pack. The sophomore isn't coming back to Syracuse in the spring because her parents can no longer afford the bill. Dad is a real estate agent in California. Mom has been unemployed for a year.

Dinh's plight reflects the trickle-down effects of the current recession on college students. Syracuse launched a $2 million emergency fundraising drive called Syracuse Responds Dec. 4 to help as many as 400 students who needed additional financial aid to return to school next semester.

Syracuse wants to raise the $2 million by Jan. 31. Officials said within the first two days of the drive, the school raised more than $26,000. Syracuse will not provide another update until the new year.

Other universities, mostly private schools, have taken similar steps to boost aid. In October, George Washington University added approximately $8 million to its financial aid offerings in response to the economic crisis.

Oakland University in Michigan gave out an additional $250,000 in financial aid for students whose financial situations had drastically changed, and 200 students inquired about the free assistance. Brown University is increasing its financial aid for the 2009 fiscal year by 20 percent.