As if military spouses didn’t have enough to worry about already, now they will have to worry about how they will pay for college.

Though the government only began giving grant money to military spouses last year, many would have already begun to count on that money to get them a promotion or a new job.

The problem here is that the government promised these husbands or wives money that it cannot deliver. Some were already approved to receive up to $6,000 in grant money before the program was suspended in February.

Members of my family have served in Vietnam, World War II and the war in Iraq. These family members served in the Navy, the Army and the Marine Corps. I know military families.

I also know military pay. Without these grants, many of these military spouses will be unable to afford college or career training. Without this extra schooling, many will be unable to find a job or get a promotion, which only worsens their financial situation.

Though ideally the government would have been able to award grant money to all who needed it, officials should have expected the massive influx of applications. As one could have easily predicted, the government is already running out of money for this program.

I understand that money is not in unlimited supply, but officials should never have promised the grant money unless they had enough to give to every military spouse. If the government can’t make that promise, then it shouldn’t implement the program without certain stipulations.

Had the program been based on merit as well as need, it is possible that this problem could have been avoided.

Once again, the government has created another problem for itself. It is far easier for people to go without something they never knew they could have. Instead, the government has dangled the college carrot in front of military spouses and now refuses to let them have it.

These military spouses have sent their partners overseas or travelled across the country or the world away from their other relatives. And now they have to kiss their college plans goodbye as well.

They’ve said enough goodbyes; just let these people have their futures back.

Kayla Mezzell is a junior geography and news-editorial journalism major from Mesquite.