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In Memoriam:

Robert Ramos, Journalist, Katapat newspaper, Laguna, Philippines.
Born:        November 24, 1965
Died:        November 20, 2005,  at the public market at Cabuyao, Laguna.

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 The New England Press gratefull accepts donations, to provide for college scholarships for disadvantaged students through the New England Press Foundation, both here in the U.S. and in the Philippines.  I became interested in helping the children of slain Filipino journalists obtain a college education after the death of my brother in law, Robert "Robby" Ramos. He left 2 children, aged 9 and 11. Their father believed in the value of a college education; before his death, he told my wife, and sister, he wanted his children to get the college degree he was never able to obtain for himself. His father, Catalino Ramos, obtained a vocational degree in electrical engineering...and told his family that his desire was to obtain a 4-year degree in the field, but since he couldn't...he wanted all 6 of his children to finish college and obtain degrees.

He never saw that through to completion; his murder in 1981 forced his children to drop out of college in order to support their mother and themselves.

The Philippines is the second most dangerous place on earth for journalists to practice their occupation; only Iraq is more dangerous. Last year, 10 journalists were killed in the Philippines; already, there has been another reporter slain in the country this year. Once these brave men and women die, there is often no way for their children to attend college—the loss of income usually precludes the children from attending college and plunges the family into financial turmoil, a cruel double whammy for these children, who already suffer from the violent death of their parent. The New England Press Foundation uses a percentage of its contribution to help the children of these slain journalists obtain the college degree that would otherwise be impossible for them to obtain.

The New England Press Foundation is also deeply committed to helping college students here in the U.S. obtain their college degrees. During the past several years, financial aid awards from the U.S. government have remained flat, or have otherwise grown at a rate below increases in college tuitions. The result is a growing unmet need for college students studying here in the U.S. College students now find that they need to come up with more money for their college eudcations, putting stress on their families and the students themselves. It now takes the average college student 6 years to complete his or her degree—because of the necessity of balancing school and work, and favoring work over school; they take semesters off, so they can work and pay their bills. The traditional Stafford loan no longer covers the unpaid college tuition that these students have, after scholarships. More and more students are forced to turn to private educational loans; loans that are given at banker's terms, rather then the more generous repayment provisions the U.S. government has for its Stafford Loan program.

Never has the typical college student been in a dire predicament. These students cannot get these private educational loans if their credit is less than perfect. Neither can the parents co-sign for such a loan if they have been through bankruptcy, or have any sort of credit blemishes. If they start out in college, they might easily find they have run out of money before they graduate; they're then forced to drop out of college, leaving them with thousands in debt, and no degree which to put forth for a job that would pay enough to pay off all those loans. Under the worst circumstances, these college students leave school with outstanding tuition owed; then, these former students can't even go to their former college and ask for their transcripts—their debt to the school effectively precludes them from getting their transcripts. Then, they can't even prove to an employer they went to college even for the time they did. On paper, they look like a high-school graduate.

Business ought to give back to the communities in which it does business. Toward that end, New England Press established the New England Press Foundation to offer scholarships to those college students who have run out of financial aid options...yet still can't finish their degree programs. I had a wife who studied in Northeastern University for 4 years to become a nurse. She ran out of financial aid: she borrowed the maximum amount from the Stafford loan program and got as much institutional aid as she could, and still the tuition was too high for us to afford. When we found we couldn't get a private student loan due to an unacceptably low credit score, we appealed for an OIL loan out of Northeastern...and were denied. Now, she owes the money on student loans and tuition, and has no degree. She can't get her transcripts because of outstanding tuition; an unacceptably bad situation. That should never happen to any college student; they should never get to the point where they are a year or 2 from graduation, and then can't finish because of insufficient financial aid and the inability to obtain any other financing for their college education.

That is why I appeal for your donation to the New England Press Foundation...As a nation, we must pull together to keep our dreams alive, where the U.S. Government and the states either can not...or will not. I could not have obtained my college degree from Suffolk University, were it not for the student aid I received from both the Federal and State governments. This country has a long history of helping people obtain a college degree...

Let's keep that history alive.

Sincerely yours:
Mark Murphy
Owner, New England Press.

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To donate to the New England Press Foundation, click on the donate button below.

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