Across the nation, tuition and fees for universities has skyrocketed, as state funding has shrunk. In my school newspaper, I wrote an article about this saying: "With the defunding of the university system, tuition and fee increases are virtually unavoidable if the universities are to continue. Politicians seem to view the university system as a business, looking to cut ‘unprofitable’ programs, to see how well it can function given a minimum of funding."
While I still agree with my latter statement about politicians' views, I have since learned that my first statement was incorrect. Tuition and fee increases are NOT unavoidable. It's a matter of misplaced priorities and spending. Administrators' salaries are unbelievably high, while athletic programs are a bottomless pit into which money is dumped. Neither of these should be taking so much money away from academics.
Because they are, however, students are paying more and more - not just out of pocket, but taking out student loans, as well. It is well known that student debt has surpassed credit card debt as the largest form of debt in the country. Politicians often blame students for their situation, implying that only people with money have the right to go to college. Furthermore, they insuiate that universities ought to function as vocational schools, training students to get jobs, rather than to learn how to think, communicate, and otherwise become active members of a democracy.
While I still agree with my latter statement about politicians' views, I have since learned that my first statement was incorrect. Tuition and fee increases are NOT unavoidable. It's a matter of misplaced priorities and spending. Administrators' salaries are unbelievably high, while athletic programs are a bottomless pit into which money is dumped. Neither of these should be taking so much money away from academics.
Because they are, however, students are paying more and more - not just out of pocket, but taking out student loans, as well. It is well known that student debt has surpassed credit card debt as the largest form of debt in the country. Politicians often blame students for their situation, implying that only people with money have the right to go to college. Furthermore, they insuiate that universities ought to function as vocational schools, training students to get jobs, rather than to learn how to think, communicate, and otherwise become active members of a democracy.
The widespread use of debt emphasizes the fact that politicians - and administrators - are increasingly viewing the academic system as a business. The humanities are underfunded and cut. Adjuncts are used instead of tenure-track professors. Academic freedom & the freedom of speech are routinely ignored and/or violated. There's a lot wrong with the university system at the moment - but I see the student debt issue as particularly important.
I must confess here that I am biased: I have thousands of dollars in student debt. Despite having a near-perfect GPA and producing my own research, I have never won a scholarship. I also do not qualify for need-based aid, even though my mother cannot afford to help pay for my education as she is still paying off her own student loans. I recognize that I willingly and knowingly signed the forms. I have responsibility for the debt I took out. But I also want to point out that I - like thousands of other students - had no other way to pay for college. And I couldn't imagine not going to college, not continuing my education, not putting learning as my number one priority.
When students are burdened with debt, they are effectively being punished for trying to get an education. They are put in a state where they are fearful of the future, fearful of being unable to pay off their debt - knowing that even if they declare bankruptcy, their student loans will never go away. I have known people who have seriously considered committing suicide simply because their student debt made them feel that they could never be free.
Studies show that my generation is unwilling to buy houses or get married because they already have so much debt. We are made fearful so that we can be easier to control.
This is unacceptable. Education is a right. It ought to be accessible to all members of society. Student loans make a mockery of that right.
Many of the ideas in this post come from Henry Giroux as well as from Benjamin Ginsberg's book The Fall of the Faculty.
I must confess here that I am biased: I have thousands of dollars in student debt. Despite having a near-perfect GPA and producing my own research, I have never won a scholarship. I also do not qualify for need-based aid, even though my mother cannot afford to help pay for my education as she is still paying off her own student loans. I recognize that I willingly and knowingly signed the forms. I have responsibility for the debt I took out. But I also want to point out that I - like thousands of other students - had no other way to pay for college. And I couldn't imagine not going to college, not continuing my education, not putting learning as my number one priority.
When students are burdened with debt, they are effectively being punished for trying to get an education. They are put in a state where they are fearful of the future, fearful of being unable to pay off their debt - knowing that even if they declare bankruptcy, their student loans will never go away. I have known people who have seriously considered committing suicide simply because their student debt made them feel that they could never be free.
Studies show that my generation is unwilling to buy houses or get married because they already have so much debt. We are made fearful so that we can be easier to control.
This is unacceptable. Education is a right. It ought to be accessible to all members of society. Student loans make a mockery of that right.
Many of the ideas in this post come from Henry Giroux as well as from Benjamin Ginsberg's book The Fall of the Faculty.