Having just returned from UCLA, it's easy to see why UC regents raised tuition costs by 32% for 2010 - no one cares. Sure, thousands of demonstrator descended on various colleges, but they form a slice of California's overall student body. The reaction doesn't match the outrage.
It's only natural that tuition costs have risen throughout the decade and are set to inflate throughout the 2010's. Let authority walk on us and it will. Personally I went to observe on a scientific basis, not participate. Only a mass protest would have a chance at changing the outcome. Average demonstrations, let alone today's paltry numbers, have no effect.
Some 200 protesters bounced off UC president Mark Yudof like they didn't exist.
That 10,000 dollars annually is still a bargain price for high quality education cannot be denied, but this is a straw-man argument. Tuition increases don''t necessarily translate to a better education. The money is meant to cover short falls in the state deficit, which stems in part from the national deficit. Students are paying the cost of government mismanagement.
A tax hike on college students is forcing them to bail out unsound fiscal policies made by adults. Injustice.
Visions of Afghanistan fluttered behind a group of protesters as I watched them helplessly alter their future. Protests don't pack the punch they used to, whether for school or war. Only a massive demonstration is capable of changing either decision. Anything less leaves the people powerless.
Short term sacrifices have yet to produce long term results. California increased tuition costs throughout the decade yet the UC system is in deeper water than ever. Next year could be worse, and the same with Afghanistan. No matter how much tuition rises, or troops rise, next year will be the same as last. Never enough.
Take our money now, you'll need more later. Take our lives now, you'll need more later. The cycle never ends, which is odd because it appears unsustainable.
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