Last Friday I read the news about the young woman who committed suicide because she was being asked to pay off her loan and she couldn't take it anymore. As one of the those students who experienced the first time the UP system used the Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program or STFAP, as it is more popularly known, I was also one of the first of thousands of students who opposed it. Supposedly, the STFAP calculates school fees based on students' family income, in a bid to minimize state support for those capable of paying full tuition and divert funds to the financially needy. It is supposed to adjust the tuition fee's based on the capacity of the student to pay. Unfortunately, getting the correct bracket is a long, complicated and tedious process, with so many supporting documents required. And sometimes it can happen that you are put in the wrong bracket. It makes you ask, as I used to ask, why should I be the one to worry about these things when
Minds are like parachutes - they only function when they are open. -Paulo Coelho