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Marla King Special to the Ebbtide In America we abhor the idea of inheritance defining destiny. We like to think that a person's talent or lack there of will be the deciding factor in their opportunities and success. More often than not, numbers in the bank matter more than the numbers of your test scores in deciding who goes to college these days. Community colleges were created to make college education not just something the rich could receive. By law, community colleges have to "keep tuition costs as low as possible so the most students can benefit." That law has been flagrantly broken, in part by the government's lack of funding to community colleges. The other factor is the colleges themselves making tuition hikes. Recently, I helped collect signatures in the PUB for a petition going to Olympia that would demand a stop to constant tuition increases and request lower tuition. We received about 400 signatures. I was surprised how many people there are here at SCC who weren't concerned with tuition constantly going up, namely, people in programs where the state pays the full tuition, school employees or international students. Remember, people: who will defend you when your time comes if your attitude is "it's not my problem?" It just makes the rest of us antagonistic toward those of you who are profiting off our struggle, getting a totally free ride or have so much money to burn you don't care. One person in particular said in regard to the campaign: "Adult students shouldn't expect help funding their educations." Although the law recognizes people as adults at 18, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) recognizes students as being dependent on their parents for help with tuition until they are 24, unless they qualify as a low income family. Low income in the Seattle area is not what it is in the rest of the nation. The FAFSA and other aid will not assist many prospective low-income students in the Seattle area. Seattle has one of the highest costs of living in the nation, on par with Alaska and New York, in particular due to rent cost, as well as other areas. A series of articles in the Seattle Times last year examined the problems of low-income persons in the Seattle area and the guidelines for low-income status here. The researchers found that the low-income level in Seattle would be in the high $40s to $50, 000 per year for a family of four in the Seattle area, a much higher figure than the guidelines now recognize. As a result, families struggling to make ends meet in Seattle are often not eligible for federal-level financial aid and do not have the resources to send their children to college. And with today's prices they canŐt even afford to send them to community college. Young high-school graduates here often end up waiting out their youths working low-paying jobs and either living with parents or roommates This has been the fate of most of my friends and co-workers. We are living at home or with roommates at ages our parents were married with children. Since the economy no longer provides enough jobs that require little training and can support a family, community college, if not all college, should be heavily subsidized to prevent poverty and social problems. I don't know anyone who wants to start college at 24. Most want to be done with it by then. In the meantime, most people have a life to get on with, which usually includes moving out of their parent's house, often getting married, etc. Then when they're 24, it is harder to disrupt everything with financial responsibilities, spousal or family responsibilities, etc. than it would be at 18. Yet, some put lives on hold for six years during the prime of our life, when we should be pursuing our goals and moving forward because of monetary policy that does not recognize our situation and need. While I gathered signatures, several people asked where the school employees' salaries and costs to run the school would come from if tuition was lowered; I told them government subsidies should make up the difference (which is what allows California and many other states to offer affordable tuition). This is especially true in Washington, the second highest taxed state in the nation. If the government can subsidize solving other countries' problems, and pays rich corporations' costs through tax loopholes, and supports large numbers of native-born Americans in welfare and prison because they could never afford higher education, then the government can afford to subsidize schooling. I for one would rather pay taxes for someone's education than pay for 20 years of welfare, child support, or prison. We're going to pay the money either way. Decide which way you want it spent. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |