Do you honestly believe that students are less likely to pursue their college degree if they do not invest their own money into their education? Rep. John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) believes so.
“I really believe that when something is given to you, you don’t have the appreciation of having put in some work.”
This is why the students of Arizona’s three state universities will now have to fork over $2,000 of the $9,000 annual tuition fee.1 Kavanagh even rubs it in by saying how ‘cheap’ this money is and that students will be left with debt after four years equivalent to ‘less than a Chevy Sonic.’ Kavanagh also assumes that all college graduates will earn $500,000 to $1,000,000 more than their high school counterparts.
Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) blocks any protests students have by saying “Welcome to life” and that “We all are thrust into circumstances and unpredictable life experiences.” Ugenti then goes on to say how she paid for her car, her food, her apartment and her education with a full-time job while still being able to play rugby for ASU.
I wonder if these two fine and shining examples of human empathy would be so quick to dismiss $2,000 as ‘inconsequential’ when they’re the ones earning less than $500 a month. They also forget that there is an economic crunch going on and that $2,000 a year can go a long way to putting food on the table.
At least athletes, merit-based scholars, special-ability scholars, students who cannot live at home, and students who have to pay for housing and meal expenses are exempt from the $2,000 payment. Pell grant recipients and need-based scholars, however, still have to fork over the cash.
In short, the people who can least afford to pay more money are the ones who are going to be squeezed by this piece of House legislation.
We all know that money is tight in today’s economy and that both the federal and state governments have to save money where it can. But our dearly beloved leaders can at least fake their concern about how people are having a hard time. After all, not everybody can get employed in the pre-recession years when jobs were more plentiful and college education was cheaper.
References- Source: Verde Independent – Arizona university students may have to fork over $2,000 [↩]
