Pawlenty’s budget proposal will raise tuition for students

Governor Pawlenty announced on June 16 that he will be cutting $2.7 billion out of the budgets of nearly every governmental agency, including colleges and universities.
If such cuts occur, that would mean yet another tuition hike for all college students in Minnesota, including students here at SCSU.

$100 million will be cut from the University of Minnesota and the MnSCU system, which SCSU is among.

Pawlenty’s proposal would not include cuts in public safety, military, veterans affairs, corrections and sex offender programs.

The editorial board believes that cutting higher education funds is detrimental to any society, and that America is one of the few countries that continuously cuts funds for higher education.

Students are already paying extreme tuition rates, and should not be forced to pay more. Many students and their families can not afford such a hike in tuition and could cause them to take out student loans, if they have not already.

By taking out loans, students will enter the work force already in debt. This could deter potential  students from going to college, which means colleges will have to hike tuition rates.

International students looking to study abroad will be discouraged to attend Minnesota colleges as well. Many countries tuition rates are often a tiny fraction of what students would be paying in the states, never less a state such as Minnesota that recently cut a large chunk of the funding.

Priorities need to be straightened out in this state before these cuts are finalized. Higher education does not just benefit the students attending colleges, it benefits societies as a whole.

Cutting funding towards higher education and not towards corrections is almost encouraging people to become criminals, if that is where the money is why not live there?

Cutting funding towards higher education and not towards military encourages society to start unnecessary wars, if that is where the money is why not invade another third world country?