Editorial: Public, not students should fund UC

Attending college for free is no more than a fantasy at this
point ““ a pipe dream students cannot realize in even the
cheapest of community colleges.

But UC Budget Vice President Larry Hershman has suggested yet
another general fee hike for students, citing dramatic budget cuts
and uncertainty about whether a ballot measure which would help
bring more funding to the UC will pass in November’s
election.

Student fee increases at first seem to be a reasonable source to
fund education, especially to outsiders. But making these
short-term allowances to help the UC keep afloat have landed
California students $1,400 bills each quarter, whereas in the past,
students attended the university for free. And although the UC has
grown significantly since the days when it was free, so has the
public and its financial resources ““ and so have the demands
the state has placed on the university.

Because of this, it’s not entirely the UC’s fault it
has moved further away from the definition of a
“public” school. The university has agreed to grant
enrollment to all eligible California applicants in a Partnership
Agreement enacted with Gov. Gray Davis. The state, though, has
failed to live up to its end of the bargain ““ providing the
funding necessary to undertake such an endeavor. They will not
fully fund the agreement this year.

When the state comes up short in its budget, it shouldn’t
come to students looking for a solution, it should go to the
overall public. Students, more often than not, fall in the lowest
of income brackets and cannot afford to make up the $56.9 million
cut from teacher development programs or the combined $61 million
cut from research and outreach.

Our university’s students and professors should
collectively advocate for the only position that makes sense: The
public should fund its public institutions.