Editor,

It is with sadness that I see the Lottery Scholarship may be ending in 2014. It truly saddens me to see, as it can be nothing but a benefit to the state to have educated people in it, and it can be nothing but a benefit for a young person to be educated.

Is the University making any plans to adapt to this? Obviously attendance will shrink as high school seniors can’t afford to go to college, and the ones who can might now use their own money (or parents’ money) to attend out-of-state schools.

Programs are going to suffer as kids who pay for their education may move to hard-core curriculums with future jobs in mind. No offense to some programs, but ethereal programs that might be enjoyable for those that enjoy the obscure may suffer next to programs that offer tangible future benefits.

The loss of the Lottery won’t just affect the student who can’t attend school anymore. It will affect the University they can’t, or won’t, go to now, and the state that loses the benefit of an educated population. I hope UNM is making plans to deal with the loss of tuition and students this will cause.

Jason Stafford
UNM student