Education is the forefront of innovation and can either make or break the generation that is currently in that stage in life; unfortunately, much of the Arizona state government does not believe so. Recently, the newly elected governor of the Grand Canyon state, Doug Ducey, revealed his 2015 plans to completely cut over $104 million from public higher-education, which spells really bad news for current and future Arizona students.
Arizona public universities have been unfairly raising their tuition rates higher and higher every year due to the intense need for more funding for the school, because as schools and universities take deeper cuts, tuition is once again going to be raised. As tuition becomes more expensive, struggling middle-class families are now forced to either take out more loans or even forego getting an education altogether. This could cause a potentially serious and risky chain reaction. With fewer people enrolled or attending colleges, getting high-paying jobs can become nearly impossible.
The fact that Arizona schools, especially the University of Arizona, are at the cutting-edge of important national research studies, that range from communications to psychology, really reveals a lot about what exactly is important to the Arizona government, which obviously does not include education or the fostering of knowledge whatsoever.
So where is all of this money going? The private prison system seems to be the biggest benefactor of this 14% cut, with Governor Ducey proposing more than 4,000 new beds for incarcerated inmates. In opposition to this, Ducey also gave more tax breaks to big businesses, where that taxed money could have been used to actually help the budget problem, but it seems this solution costs too much for the greedy 1%.
This is hurting hard-working students the most, where more than half are already drowning in financial debt. These cuts mean higher tuition, and even if there is a tuition agreement that does not mean extreme measures will not be taken. Researchers found that because of these tuition hikes there will be a drop in out-of-state enrollment, again increasing the in-state tuition since there are going to be a lot fewer students paying out-of-state tuition. This will also make it harder for a lot of students to graduate, making the standard of living in the state go down as well.[1]
What can we do about it? Talk to your school's administrators and absolutely demand that they take immediate action, especially since they make over $200,000 a year, and maybe ask why they do not get their large and extravagant paychecks cut. They are the face of this institution and if they really cared about their schools, they would listen to the people that pay their salary: students.
Education is such a crucial venture to help the future leaders of this country, and the world. If these budget cuts continue to imperative, and even life changing schooling, our fate as a generation to aid in the growth and betterment of our community and perhaps beyond will cease to be of importance if we let those win who should not.
"Education is an investment. A little money in here means we will have contributing members to the economy for a lifetime," said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson.
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/arizona-education-cuts_n_6819886.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/arizona-education-cuts_n_6819886.html
