2022 is the 50th anniversary of the passage of the federal Pell Grant, which President Joe Biden mentioned in his State of the Union Address. President Biden called out the need to increase the grant. As a University of Oregon student, I agree with the President — we need to increase the grant and ultimately double it to level the playing field for lower-income students while providing more higher education options.

As a student who spent half his college career learning during a global pandemic, I understand the financial burden and difficult choices that students face. When the pandemic forced courses to move remotely and changed the learning experience as we know it, I enrolled at Lane Community College to save money. That’s one change I had to make. A lot of other students also faced tough choices about their education and how they could afford rent and food. No student should have to face these challenges, and doubling the Pell Grant will hopefully make decisions like these obsolete.

The choice that students should have is where they want to attend college, regardless of their circumstances. As a student who recently benefited from the ability to take community college courses, I appreciate advocates for free community college. However, the push to double the Pell Grant would not only provide students with low income with free community college, but it would also give students more options as they decide what educational path is right for them. The Pell Grant is the federal government’s main way of supporting students from lower-income backgrounds, but the maximum award from the U.S. Department of Education in 2022-23 is only $6,495. In practice, students rarely get the full amount, and even if they do, it would only cover about 28% of the average in-state cost to attend a four-year university. Let’s stop short-changing the future workforce and restore Pell’s value by doubling the grant.

If offering an equitable educational playing field is our goal, we should look to increase and expand the Pell Grant so that more students can attend the college of their choice, regardless of their circumstances. We have the means to address inequity and increase opportunity for all. President Biden is on board, as well as our local congressman, Peter DeFazio. Now is the time to advocate change.