This week, the Higher Education Chapter of USCB Calpirg has been raising some serious Pell, and no that's not a typo.

Federal Pell grant aid helps students rely less on federal aid to pay for college. In this economy, and with rising tuition fees, it is more important now than ever to ensure that qualified students can earn a degree without subjecting themselves to crushing debt.

Recently, both President Obama and the House proposed a $40 billion dollar increase in student Pell grants. Big lenders and banks are opposed to this proposal, since their student loan profits will be used to pay for the increase. In order to guarantee  that the Senate knows to invest in students over banks, we need to make our voices heard, and raise some Pell!

Today UCSB Calpirg and SAFRA made over one hundred calls to Senator Boxer's D.C. and California offices to voice their support for increasing student aid. They will be continuing their work all week, and we hope that you can join us in our cause.

If you would like to make a difference, please call Senator Boxer's office at 415-403-0100. Here is what to say once you call:

"Hi, I'm from California and I'd like to speak to my senator. I'm a student from UCSB. I'm calling to Raise some Pell! Students are in too much debt and we need more aid. I'm calling because I think that Senator Boxer should be in support of increasing student grant aid."

You can also join the petition through the Facebook group, California Students for more College Aid, at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37391299994&ref=mf.

Let's go raise some Pell!