A student’s decision to get a college education shouldn’t be depend or be affected by who is in congress at the moment, but for most, it is.
Approximately 150 students gathered at Rocky Young Park at Pierce College Wednesday, October 26, for the “Where’s the Funding” rally to protest budget cuts that have caused tuition fee’s at community colleges to increase.
While I may not agree that college should be free because let’s be practical, somebody’s got to help pay teachers and fund the campus.
Education should absolutely not be used as a lucrative way for officials to make money or gain power, but that is what it’s currently being used for; students just get degrees instead of receipts.
Having a proper education should be a citizen’s right and every semester many students play the guessing game as they wait to find out what the new tuition fee’s are.
Currently, free public education is only available for grades K-12. But, one of the goals of the United States Student Association, who supports the WTF? protests, is to make higher education more accessible to anyone who desires it.
The average student who borrows from student loans, graduates nearly $25,000 in debt. To offset these costs, some of the USSA’s goals include providing mandatory funding for Pell Grants and protection of financial aid programs.
Living in a country of well-educated citizens helps increase economic value, and reduces crime and unemployment rates. There is a direct correlation between these factors.
The purpose of the WTF rallies are to ask congress to be willing to make an investment in the future generation of America.
Providing more funding for higher education will mean budget cuts for other government funded programs, but education should be a number one priority because we already know there will be a return on our investment.
