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Michael Carter Sports Editor Soaring tuition expenses have become a concern to many people, especially SCC student Dung Nguy (Yoom Newy), who's made it her current focus. Nguy recently held a meeting on campus, intent on discussing tuition increases with fellow students. She spent the entire previous night preparing; campus billboards were littered with her fliers. However, only one person showed up. "I sure hope things don't end quietly, because tuition hikes affect every college student in the state," said Nguy, 29. "Two years of college are basically needed to get a good job. People without financial aid might not have access to this education, so affordability is extremely important because education is the great equalizer." The education Nguy speaks of is based on the state's Community College Act of 1967, which sought to form a system of two-year colleges intended to serve the community and students. The act shifted control of institutions from school districts to the state. The schools also began being financed by the state. According to information produced by Nguy, "The 1967 law required the community colleges to offer 'comprehensive educational, training, and service programs' and 'an open door' to every citizen, regardless of his academic background or experience." She believes the open-door policy is being compromised by sky-rocketing tuition increases, and is attempting to construct an ambitious plan to create tuition awareness among community- and technical-college students, while harnessing their voting capacity to persuade change among Washington State policy makers. Information taken from a report by the Higher Education Coordinating Board supports her belief, with comparisons between two-year college tuition rates from Washington and California. According to the chart, residents from California only pay 16.7 percent of the amount of their Washingtonian counterparts pay, $330 annually as compared to the $1,967 paid here. Another figure shows a near annual increase in two-year college tuition in Washington. Since the 1979-80 school year, tuition has increased 641.8 percent. In California, tuition has decreased 15.4 percent since the 1993-94 school year. An article written by the United Students for Higher Education, a group from Seattle Central Community College, sheds some light on the recent tuition increases. It states that "in January of 2002, as the economy began to slow and state expenses to rise, the legislature convened to face a $1.2 billion shortfall in the state budget. "Legislators responded with Band-Aids, selling off $1 billion worth of tobacco-settlement bonds for $450 million, reducing scheduled cost of living increases and pension spending for teachers and state employees, and cutting many social services, including a $54 million cut to higher education. "This resulted in a 12-percent tuition hike for community and technical colleges, and a 14- and 16-percent increase for four-year colleges." Nguy has been sharing ideas and information with the group from Seattle Central, and together they have decided on a three-step plan. The first stage involves acquiring student signatures for a petition and creating voter awareness. They point out that 25 percent of the voting population consists of people ages 18 to 25. This group has the lowest turnout and is "underutilized." The information packet written by Nguy and the Seattle Central group states that "because of these prevalent trends, elected officials do not concern themselves with issues relevant to this demographic." In the second stage of the plan, a demonstration, with students from the University of Washington, Seattle Central, Evergreen and SCC was held Jan. 15 in Olympia. Finally, they would like to unite the other 33 community and technical colleges throughout the state, having them follow suit with the petition, and present it to the state government before the legislative session ends. The constantly increasing tuition rates have left lingering questions about how long two-year schools will be affordable to people of middle and low income. But those who advocate for affordability vow to fight. "This is a year long process that begins with petitions and voter registration and ends in November when students vote in the election," stated Nguy. One thing is for certain. If something isn't done, tuition will inevitably increase, following a 20-year trend. The only question will be, how much? Those interested in fighting tuition increases are urged to e-mail sccmoose@yahoo.com. General information is available by signing up at Tuitions-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |