"did cuts... hurt the education of ... lower income students?" well, a single anecdotal example: I was in college when Pell grants were cut, and when faced with the prospect of a higher debt upon graduation, I chose instead to drop out of college. True story. I wonder if, over the course of the ensuing years in which the government collected less from me in income taxes than it otherwise might have, the difference could have paid for the Pell grant that I might have received. In retrospect, my decision was probably unwise, but oh well.

sometime in my teens, living in New York state, I decided to define the start of Fall to be the first time, each year, that I saw Canada geese overhead in a south-bound V. Naturally, Spring's start was the same idea, but for a north-bound V sighting. But now the Canada geese don't migrate like they used to, so I'll have to choose another signal. It does seem silly to me, the notion that Fall starts in Quebec on the same day it starts in South Carolina... even the idea that it starts on the same day of the year from one year to the next seems wrong.

well, I'm working (thinking of working?) on a project: visit www.mathspace.net & if your curiosity is piqued, contact me. In other words, I am volunteering to try to be a supportive mentor. In any case, I admire your initiative & wish you good fortune in the endeavor.