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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 12, 1998)
NEWSROOM: (541)346-5511 E-MAIL ode@oregoa uoregon.edu ON-LINE EDITION: www.uoregon.edu/-ode EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Frank EDITORIAL EDITORS Jonas Allen, Kameron Cole Tuition freeze would warm students’ hearts Rising college costs outpace inflation, meaning a national tuition freeze is necessary for families to “catch up” Generation X. Children of the ’80s. The Y2K Kids. The current generation of col lege students has been giv en numerous nicknames. None of them is particularly flatter ing, nor were any of them chosen by the people they describe. Now it’s time to add another one to the list: The Broke Bunch. And students sure as heck didn’t choose this one. According to figures released by the College Board, the price of at tending a university rose an average of 4 percent this year — more than double the rate of inflation. During the course of the last decade, tuition at public four-year institutions has risen 50 percent, while family in come has gone up a scant 1.5 per cent. In an Associated Press interview, College Board analyst Lawrence Gladieux said the potential to earn higher wages with a college degree makes the expense “worth every penny.” Furthermore, the College Board pointed out that Congress re cently approved an increase in Pell Grants. While it may seem that students should “have no fear, Congress is here,” the College Board does admit the increase in grants may be offset by an increase in the number of stu dents who need them. How could the College Board think otherwise? According to The Associated Press, sending a child to a private university would require 162 percent of a low-income fami ly’s earnings and 44 percent of a middle-income family’s earnings. Those are national statistics. If they seem unbelievable, look at the story across the United States: Col lege students in Florida have en dured three straight years of almost 7 percent increases. Mississippi has i - ended its six-year sabbatical and in creased college costs by 10 percent. To fight the rising expense of a college education, something needs to be done — and fast. The best so lution would be to establish a na tional tuition freeze. By eliminating price increases for at least a few years, families (and the inflation rate] might have a fighting chance to “catch up” to university prices. Believe it or not, Oregon is an ex ample of one such tuition-freeze success story. The average increase in tuition and fees this year in Oregon was 1.3 percent. Without the freeze, said The Associated Press, Oregon tu itions would have soared to 3.7 per cent, much closer to the national 4 percent average. Not every state has the luxury of freezing college tuition. If a tuition freeze is indeed not possible, uni versity administrations must at least try to make the rate of college costs comparable to the inflation rate. This year the inflation rate was 2 percent. If university costs had in creased at an identical rate, students would be paying a comparable amount. So why such a disparity be tween the two? Did the cost of edu cating a college student really in crease over the summer? The College Board’s Gladieux said it is attributed mainly to a decline in state support. He also noted that as colleges compete for students by promising bigger and better pro Giovanni Salimena/Emerald grams, the need for bigger and better funding goes up. With schools com peting against one another, the well of college funds dries up quickly. And students are left to squeeze water from the rocks. In other words — that’s all, folks; time for a loan. A college education is a great in vestment. Unlike the stock market, a degree will not crash and send stu dents into a depression. But if the cost of college is not frozen or re duced, the depression of unending loans will strike soon enough. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Respons es may be sent to ode@oregon. uore gon.edu. Question of the Week Yes or No.- Do you believe it is realistic to have a tuition freeze and maintain the quality of ed ucation at the University? Responses may be called in to 346-5511, dropped off at the Emerald in Suite 300 of the EMU or sent to ode@oregon.uor egon.edu. Re sults will be post ed next Monday. Letters to the Editor Frustrating freebies It’s about time someone took a closer look at the tac tics credit card companies use to sign up students (ODE, Oct. 6). I am a firm believer that students are adults capable of making their own decisions, but the free Frisbees in ex change for credit make me an gry Signing up for a credit card is a big task, one that should be thought through. The methods that credit card com panies use are completely structured to discourage the thought process. The result is that many students sign up for a credit card and get them selves into deep water. The Emerald has done the campus a service by choosing to cover this matter. Merriah Fairchild Political Science Elections apology Last spring’s ASUO elec tions were a mess. This year, we are going to fix this process. After the rules viola tions, grievances and Constitu tion Court rulings of last spring’s elections, it was obvi ous that campus elections rules and regulations needed to be clearer. As candidates, even the ASUO president and vice president unknowingly were found guilty of a cam paign violation. To prepare for a smoother and more effective election this spring, the ASUO elec tions coordinator is clarifying and editing the election process in conjunction with the ASUO Constitution Court. Hopefully, this stream-lin ing will create fairer and smoother ASUO campus elec tions. Please contact the ASUO elections coordinator at asuoelec@gladstone with any suggestions. Thank you. Geneva Wortman ASUO president Ballot information As the person who manages public information for Lane County, I want to call atten tion to the many ways voters can learn about Ballot Mea sures 20-05 and 20-06, the community safety and justice system levy and bond. In any election, it is impor tant for us to get the informa tion we need to cast an edu cated and responsible vote. Most people wouldn’t buy a car without first checking it out. Most wouldn’t bite into a turnover without first asking “What’s inside?” And most wouldn’t jump into the lake without first doing the “toe test.” So why would people want to vote on something they don’t completely under stand? Here are five easy ways you can learn more about two measures that address a coun ty-wide plan to improve com munity safety and justice: by telephone (682-4511), by Internet (www.co.lane.or.us/ measures), by e-mail (pio@co.lane.or.us), by mail (Lane County Administration, 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401) and by having us come and talk to your group. Call for a brochure. Check out the website. Ask ques tions. Do your own toe test. Mike Moskovitz Lane County public information officer Thumbs THUMBS UP To foresight: Robert Guberman, planning for his future, trade marked the phrase “Year 2000” sev eral years ago. Others have trade marked slogans suchas"Y2K,” ”2000” and “mil lennium.” For those interested in their great-grand children’s fi nances, the phrase “Y3K" is still up for grabs. To Boot Camp: Leaders of the United States Ma rine Corp have de cided to issue new softer-soled boots to recruits. The new footwear will cost more, but it replaces a stan dard-issue boot known for causing stress fractures. These boots are made for walkin’... THUMBS DOWN To indolence: The latest session ofConoress passed the fewest laws in decades. Richard Gephardt called it “the worst Congress that has ever sat in this building.” Now there is an im pending govern ment shutdown. What have you done for me late ly? TotheUO Bookstore: Week three is upon us, and some students are still without books. The prob lem is the Book store's habit of or dering too few textbooks for large classes. The solu tion may be Ama zon.com.
