By Jesús Manuel Mena Garza
Today, after listening to several conservative politicians
complain about colleges, I learned that they want to change the way they are
run. They blast that colleges need to be more cost effective (not necessarily
affordable) and of course less liberal.
Here are the facts. It costs more today to go to college than just
a decade ago. Students are now incurring tremendous debt to attend school.
Full-time professors are being replaced by adjuncts. Colleges want to attract
more foreign students because they pay higher tuitions and fees.
During the heated conservative discussion, they complained that
colleges force students to take classes that are not going to them land a job
(aka: Ethnic Studies, Philosophy, Art, Art History, Poetry, etc.) These politicians
desperately want to micromanage colleges, eliminating courses that don’t meet
their conservative agenda.
The panel felt colleges were liberal bastions that spread
propaganda promoting Marx, Castro and Obama. They wanted to give the boot to
liberal professors and ethnic studies. Yes, they have a very-long list of
classes they would like to excise. Maybe your favorite college subject is on
their list?
These right-wing politicians also advocate long-distance learning
as a way to save money. They proclaim that Internet courses are the wave of the
future and that this new student body would be international. Again, it would
be more profitable.
Some Historical Context
Those of you under forty probably don't know this, but California
back in the 1960s and 70s had what was once considered the finest public
university system in the world. It was also affordable. Back in the good old'
days, when I went to college, I paid less than $100 a semester to attend San
Jose State University. Now, a quality education is exponentially more
expensive. What used to be the best university system is now just average.
Despite all the fiscal attacks several of the UC's still compete at a high
level despite their shrinking budgets.
With less money, colleges have had to make drastic
cuts. Today, universities are scrambling to find new sources of funding
(like the aforementioned foreign students). Many Californians who want to go to
college can’t because they can’t afford it. In the end, maybe only the rich
from America and abroad will be able to go to school. Once these select few are
accepted, they may find themselves in over-crowded classrooms or staring at a
lonely computer screen from home. At least that is the plan if many
conservative politicians had their way. What do you think?
Bonus article: Harvard Cheaper than Cal State!
-30-
