The Michigan Daily
One hundred and thirty-four years of editorial freedom
Law School and Public Policy graduate student Vincent Pinti celebrated the passage of his Disability Advocates and Caregivers Scholarship Feb. 5, which created four $2,500 scholarships for student caregivers and advocates for more resources for those with disabilities on campus. Two weeks later, Pinti faced an unexpected situation: He was forced to resign from his role as a representative from the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government.
“We are at an inflection point in American history,” Pinti’s address to CSG read. “Countless Americans are feeling real pain because of the authoritarian actions of the current president of the United States … funding for Americans with disabilities to be able to pursue education and employment has been slashed to near nothingness.”
According to Pinti, he was forced to resign from his role in CSG due to a major cut in his financial aid, citing President Donald Trump’s recent funding grant freeze and anticipated budget cuts. Since Pinti’s resignation, he has spent his days in administrative appeals, fighting to retain his funding.
Pinti has spinal muscular atrophy, meaning he uses a wheelchair full-time and requires 24/7 care assistance. In his first semester as an undergraduate student at the University, his father lived in his dorm to provide him care in the absence of other support networks. Since then, Pinti has advocated for disability rights on campus and located funding for other disabled students admitted to the University.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Pinti said he received a grant of $23,000 each year living as a student from the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services in order to attend the University and pay for his care needs. However, the grant has been cut significantly by the state agency. Pinti said he received an email from his counselor citing Trump’s targeting of the Department of Education, of which the DRS is a division, for the loss of his financial aid.
“Statewide, they’re putting in a $3,000 cap on all state-funded services for any individual with a disability, regardless of circumstance, regardless of need, which is illegal under the federal regulations and is currently being challenged in court,” Pinti said. “But the reason why they put this cap in place was because they said that they are anticipating heavy funding cuts at both the state and federal level, and (my DRS counselor) specifically cited the actions of the Trump administration and their scaling down at the Department of Education.”
Coming from a working class background, Pinti said he couldn’t afford private coverage for the 24/7 caregiving services his disability requires. He relied on Medicaid and the tuition grant he received, but the threat of Medicaid cuts and the substantial reduction of his grant leave him worried about his ability to complete his studies.
“Basically I have to either be on Medicaid, or I have to live in poverty and pay for everything out of pocket and choose when I’m getting care for what, so I already have a lot of anticipated health care debt,” Pinti said. “I can’t be simultaneously paying for $133,000 a year out of pocket in caregiving and also trying to pay for my law school debt. And that’s why these programs exist, because it’s a recognition by the government … that people with disabilities need more support in order to be able to actually be integrated into society.”
In an interview with The Daily, Professor of Public Policy Don Moynihan said federal funding freezes and potential budget cuts are causing uncertainty across educational institutions.
“We’re seeing a perfect storm of different waves crashing down on students like Vincent,” Moynihan said. “One of those is there’s simply going to be less money in higher education if Trump gets his way. He’s making decisions which, if they’re implemented, would mean universities would lose hundreds of millions of dollars, and so universities will be cutting back (and) supports like the ones from West Virginia are going to be more uncertain and less available.”
Pamela Herd, professor of public policy, told The Daily the combination of the Trump administration’s desire to cut federal funding for both education and Medicaid have created a particularly dire situation for Pinti and other disabled students.
“For Vincent what (education cuts) get compounded by are cuts to social welfare programs,” Herd said. “Like with the cut to his grant aid program for students with disabilities we’re looking at potentially pretty significant cuts to the Medicaid program, or at least that’s what has been proposed by congressional Republicans and the president. … That will have a huge impact on a student like Vincent because he needs those services and supports to access higher education.”
Pinti said his situation is not unique, and warned of the dangers that people with disabilities will increasingly face under the Trump administration.
“Every person with a disability in America is going to be affected by this at some point; it’s just a matter of when.” Pinti said. “If you’re from a bigger state, you’re probably a little more insulated, especially if you’re from a big progressive state like California or New York. … But if you’re from a rural state, if you’re from a poorer state, if you’re from a state like Michigan where your state gets a lot of federal funding from the Department of Education and from the Department of Health and Human Services, your funding to be able to go to school, go to work, have a home as a person with a disability — that is going to be cut.”
LSA junior Katelyn Koziol, one of Pinti’s caregivers, wrote in an email to The Daily that she was dismayed at how Trump’s funding cuts have impacted Pinti.
“When he shared with me that the program funding his grant was under a federal money freeze, and that he would lose a substantial amount of funding for not only school but also his apartment, my heart sank,” Koziol wrote. “Vincent is incredibly hardworking and is an exemplary student, and the thought of him worrying about having a place to live broke my heart.”
Moynihan said he felt it would be a loss for the entire University community if Pinti was unable to continue his studies.
“There is a lot of value in having someone like Vincent in a classroom, in government, in advocacy spaces because he does add a different set of experiences to those of most other people,” Moynihan said. “Collectively, we’re poorer as a society when we exclude those experiences and perspectives.”
Pinti expressed his frustration at what he saw as a lack of active opposition to the actions of the Trump administration, both in his case and with other issues such as the increased presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Ann Arbor. He said students should not be afraid to speak out against injustice.
“What I find the most alarming is that there are so many advocates that are afraid to speak out against the Trump administration,” Pinti said. “And I get it because this time it is different. This time there’s a lot more concern of repercussions. There’s a lot more concern of Trump weaponizing the criminal justice system to beat up advocates and to do really, truly horrible things and violate our constitutional rights. But we need to speak out, we have to continue advocating against what he’s doing, and we have to continue reminding people of what a damaging platform he is governing with.”
Daily Staff Reporter Glenn Hedin can be reached at heglenn@umich.edu.
Please consider donating to The Michigan Daily
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by the students at the University of Michigan since 1890
[ditty id=484978]
