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Shouldn't Adults Getting a College Education Pay for it Themselves?

Should College Students Bear the Full Cost of Their Own Education?

  • No, the government is rich and can take the money from the taxpayer anyway.

    Votes: 4 14.8%

  • No, they're too young and not ready for the rigors of personal responsibility.

    Votes: 3 11.1%

  • No, they don't have any other options in life.

    Votes: 1 3.7%

  • Yes, they're legal adults, treat them like adults.

    Votes: 19 70.4%
  • Total voters
    27
S

Scarecrow Akhbar

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UC students occupy buildings to protest fee hikeBERKELEY, Calif. – Students barricaded themselves inside buildings on University of California campuses to protest a 32 percent increase in student fees and budget cuts that have led to slashed programs and lost jobs.

Demonstrators at UC Berkeley occupied Wheeler Hall on Friday and hung a sign from a window that read "32 Percent Hike, 900 layoffs," with the word "Class" crossed out in red. A group of students also rallied outside the building.

Campus police said they had arrested three of the demonstrators inside.

Police would not say how many protesters remained in the building. University police Lt. Alex Yao said demonstrators were barricaded behind fire doors on the second floor, but police had control of the rest of the building.

The Daily Californian student newspaper said it received a text message from a protester in the building who put the number still inside at 60 undergraduates and graduate students.

The occupiers were demanding the university rehire laid-off custodial workers and give amnesty to anyone arrested in the protest.

....

About 30 to 50 protesters staged a takeover of Campbell Hall at UCLA on Thursday, as regents met across campus to approve the fee hike. More than 50 students were arrested during protests at UC Davis.

Regents say they had to raise fees because the cash-strapped state government can't meet the university's funding needs.
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Any particular reason the students can't transfer to a college they can afford, or, barring that, getting a job and saving the money until they have the funds to pay for their own tuition?

I don't recall owing them a college education.
 
Of course adults should, but let's face it, how many real adults do you know?;)

I believe I read that the reason for college costs going up so much in Cali is to help alleviate the out-of-control budget deficits.:shock: The way things are going in California (if news reports are right), I think I would consider going to school out of state. It may be less expensive.
 
It is called student loans. You pay them back. That is paying for your college.
 
Good polls aren't easy to do.
 
Another marvelously impartial poll.

An educated workforce is essentially to the productivity of the nation. If government programs assist in the creation and maintenance of such a workforce, they are worthwhile. Adults whose college education would benefit the State should be subsidized if necessary, much as their secondary school education is subsidized. Of course, this benefits their families as well, and much as families have an obligation to support their young adults in secondary school, they should be expected to bear as large a portion of the cost of college as they are practically capable.

The problem is that, much as we have assumed a secondary school education as a universal right, we are beginning to treat a college education as a right that students should enjoy regardless of their ability to complete and benefit from it. We need to return to the cultural assumption that young men and women should be expected to enter the workforce at the level of education or vocational training that they are suited to.
 
Quite the ****ty pole. How about: higher education is important to all of society.
 
lizzie said:
Of course adults should, but let's face it, how many real adults do you know?;)

I believe I read that the reason for college costs going up so much in Cali is to help alleviate the out-of-control budget deficits.:shock: The way things are going in California (if news reports are right), I think I would consider going to school out of state. It may be less expensive.
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The problem is, California has always subsidized college tuition, nobody has ever had to pay what it really costs. Now that there's no money and people are starting to have to pay the real costs, there's massive sticker shock. Going out of state isn't going to help, all states are going to have to do this to balance their budgets.

Higher education isn't free, people need to get that through their heads.
 
Cephus said:
Higher education isn't free, people need to get that through their heads.
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Indeed. Nothing is free, no matter how much it is in the State's interests to ensure that it is accessible. Perhaps it is a good thing that we are reminded how much it truly costs.
 
Korimyr the Rat said:
Another marvelously impartial poll.

An educated workforce is essentially to the productivity of the nation. If government programs assist in the creation and maintenance of such a workforce, they are worthwhile. Adults whose college education would benefit the State should be subsidized if necessary, much as their secondary school education is subsidized. Of course, this benefits their families as well, and much as families have an obligation to support their young adults in secondary school, they should be expected to bear as large a portion of the cost of college as they are practically capable.

The problem is that, much as we have assumed a secondary school education as a universal right, we are beginning to treat a college education as a right that students should enjoy regardless of their ability to complete and benefit from it. We need to return to the cultural assumption that young men and women should be expected to enter the workforce at the level of education or vocational training that they are suited to.
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Exquisite.
 
There wasn't a no answer I liked, so I used one of the ones that was there. I see nothing wrong with grant money and federal subsidized loans for college. It's somewhat of an investment on the government's part. Someone with a college degree is probably going to make more money over their lifetime and thus generate more tax revenue for the government.
 
Yeah, yeah, nothing is free cuz taxpayer's money need to be reserved for bailouts.
 
Scarecrow Akhbar said:
Any particular reason the students can't transfer to a college they can afford, or, barring that, getting a job and saving the money until they have the funds to pay for their own tuition?

I don't recall owing them a college education.
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No one is owed anything, but if the govt is really interested in increasing the number of adults with college degrees and booting the number of better jobs in the US, there's no reason why they shouldn't lower college tuition costs, especially considering what a lot of this tuition money ends up being wasted on by these colleges.

The fact that so many students have to take out loans just to get an education shows just how crazy public college tuition is. Plenty of capable people don't go to college just because of the money issue, while at the same time, plenty of kids with well-off parents go to college, spend the whole time partying, and just drop out and end up working at McDonald's.

Who knows, maybe if the govt had reasonable college costs, the HS dropout rate would go down too. Because when the purpose of HS is to prepare for college and many of these lower-income class students know they probably can't afford college anyway, it kind of destroys much of the incentive to even care about finishing HS.

You can't teach kids responsibility when you don't even give them the opportunity to use it by jacking up tuition costs so much that a kid is more motivated just to get a fast food job. I'd love to see free public college tuition like they have in Sweden myself.
 
Toothpicvic said:
No one is owed anything, but if the govt is really interested in increasing the number of adults with college degrees and booting the number of better jobs in the US, there's no reason why they shouldn't lower college tuition costs, especially considering what a lot of this tuition money ends up being wasted on by these colleges.

The fact that so many students have to take out loans just to get an education shows just how crazy public college tuition is. Plenty of capable people don't go to college just because of the money issue, while at the same time, plenty of kids with well-off parents go to college, spend the whole time partying, and just drop out and end up working at McDonald's.

Who knows, maybe if the govt had reasonable college costs, the HS dropout rate would go down too. Because when the purpose of HS is to prepare for college and many of these lower-income class students know they probably can't afford college anyway, it kind of destroys much of the incentive to even care about finishing HS.

You can't teach kids responsibility when you don't even give them the opportunity to use it by jacking up tuition costs so much that a kid is more motivated just to get a fast food job. I'd love to see free public college tuition like they have in Sweden myself.
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In most states, public school tuition is between $2500-7500. There is absolutely no way that a person who genuinely wants to go to college cannot scrape together enough money between grants, jobs, and loans in order to pay for that.
 
RightinNYC said:
In most states, public school tuition is between $2500-7500. There is absolutely no way that a person who genuinely wants to go to college cannot scrape together enough money between grants, jobs, and loans in order to pay for that.
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You might be surprised.
 
Toothpicvic said:
You might be surprised.
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Even if someone doesn't get a single penny from their family, has nothing saved up, and gets no financial aid from their school, they can earn cost of living + $7k/year by working any job out there. Furthermore, even if they don't want to work, they can take out loans to cover tuition + living.

Given that, how exactly would I be surprised?
 
Scarecrow Akhbar said:
Any particular reason the students can't transfer to a college they can afford, or, barring that, getting a job and saving the money until they have the funds to pay for their own tuition?

I don't recall owing them a college education.
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So you are advocating a total privatization of the education system?
That works great in a caste system and ensures that only the most wealthy will be educated and keeps the power in the hands of a few.
 
My college was free, to me....I even got paid to go....on the GI Bill...
That option is open to most citizens, just serve in the military for a while....
 
RightinNYC said:
In most states, public school tuition is between $2500-7500. There is absolutely no way that a person who genuinely wants to go to college cannot scrape together enough money between grants, jobs, and loans in order to pay for that.
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I don't know where you get your figures but....

Attending a college or university in the United States is very expensive. A year at a prominent four-year university can cost almost $50,000, and this does not include the extra costs of housing, transportation, and other living expenses. There are, of course, less expensive options at colleges that also offer an excellent education. Most four-year colleges cost at least $10,000 per year, and many more are in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. For families in the United States, paying for the education of their children has become a major expense. Many families begin saving money from the time their children are born, and some states offer incentive plans for savings programs.
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The Cost of College in the United States
 
UtahBill said:
My college was free, to me....I even got paid to go....on the GI Bill...
That option is open to most citizens, just serve in the military for a while....
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Not everyone is suited to military life or is even capable of entering into the military.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Not everyone is suited to military life or is even capable of entering into the military.
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Correct, but a very small percentage fit your category of having a valid excuse to not get out there and make an effort...

We do need other forms of national service that allows a much higher percentage to earn their benefits, I will give you that.

For 99% of us, National service of some kind should be a requirement for benefits like reduced tuition, subsidized health care, etc.
 
UtahBill said:
Correct, but a very small percentage fit your category of having a valid excuse to not get out there and make an effort...

We do need other forms of national service that allows a much higher percentage to earn their benefits, I will give you that.

For 99% of us, National service of some kind should be a requirement for benefits like reduced tuition, subsidized health care, etc.
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The peace corp could be an option as well as various other options instead of the military.
 
UtahBill said:
Correct, but a very small percentage fit your category of having a valid excuse to not get out there and make an effort...

We do need other forms of national service that allows a much higher percentage to earn their benefits, I will give you that.

For 99% of us, National service of some kind should be a requirement for benefits like reduced tuition, subsidized health care, etc.
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Subsidized health care is already a part of the benefits of serving on a national level. Military or government.

I'm curious as to what else you think a person should "serve" in order to recieve benefits.
 
Kal'Stang said:
Subsidized health care is already a part of the benefits of serving on a national level. Military or government.

I'm curious as to what else you think a person should "serve" in order to recieve benefits.
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Benefits should be earned, or do you think they are rights?
 
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