Why not make college free and reduce debt?

By Lance Gagnon

College can be a great time for those who attend it. You get to make new friends, explore new ideas you didn’t know about before and make connections that may help you find a future career. And when it’s over, you get a degree that makes it easier to get a decent job. But all this comes at a price, which has become huge in recent years. Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t have to pay to attend?

In many European countries students pay little or no tuition to attend college. In Finland, you can go as far as a Master’s degree without paying anything. In Sweden, not only is your tuition covered (whether you are from Sweden or not), but the college gives students a living expense stipend for up to ten years. Undergraduates in Ireland attend college for free. The only country in Europe where tuition costs rival those of the United States is Britain.

Meanwhile in America, the average student will leave college with a debt of $20,000, an increase of more than 35 percent in the last five years. Many students of top-of-the-line private institutions (which differ from their mainland European counterparts in that they are better reputed than public institutions) will have more than that to pay off for just one year of attendance. This large cost has made it harder for Americans to get a degree, as 47 percent of American parents cannot afford to send their children to college.

Tuition isn’t even the only financial burden forced upon the average American college student. Textbooks sell for absurd prices that anyone who’s ever been to a book store knows are beyond what’s reasonable. New editions with hardly anything new to them (often just a different cover or supplemental CD-ROM) are created to force used editions out of the market.

And health insurance — another anomaly that Europeans do not suffer through — threatens to add another, potentially larger debt onto Americans whether they attend college or not. At many universities, including those in Massachusetts, health insurance is mandatory, forcing students into another costly institution.

By creating a threat of more debt, higher education is scaring off poor people from attending, as debt is so closely associated with poverty. The possibility of being unable to find a well-paying job after college makes this even scarier. For many, it is perfectly logical to assume they could be in for a lifetime of debt. And this assumption is not unfounded. Since 2006, the average household’s debt has exceeded the average household income for the first time in history. College may still be a cure for poverty, but it is looking more and more like the disease.

If our government is to serve our best interests, then it should spend more money on decreasing the cost of higher education. And like with health care, our government could catch up with European nations by making it free. This is entirely possible for our nation to do, as our government has to merely redistribute the federal budget to do so. For 2007, the federal government has a budget of $2.77 trillion. Of this, $63 billion will go to the Department of Education while $699 billion will go to the Department of Defense.

About $269 billion of the Department of Defense’s budget will go towards the War on Terror. This money, as the majority of Americans now realize, is being wasted on a failing war with Iraq. Even if Iraq wasn’t part of the War on Terror, it would still be a waste, as terrorism is a statistically unlikely event with a very low probability of causing one’s death. Meanwhile, domestic programs such as education are seeing budget cuts for the purpose of increasing the war’s budget.

If the government were to end this war and reallocate its budget to education, the Department of Education would have more than five times its current budget. This additional money alone would put 13 million college students through four years of college, or pay for 52 million students for one year. This is enough to put most current students through college, as census figures say that 15.9 million people are currently enrolled in college.

The reallocation of the budget for Homeland Security, which would not be necessary outside the war on terror, would put an additional 1.45 million students through four years of college. Further budget cuts to the Department of Defense could yield enough money for the rest of the costs. Over-funded and wasteful areas of the department, such as advertising, could have their budgets reduced enough to force them to be less wasteful. Of course, this budget reallocation would only cover the current number of students in college. Further reforms, such as increased taxation of the wealthy, could yield more money for this purpose.

Of course, some members of our society may see this as a waste of our tax dollars. More people on campus, they might argue, would mean more people who aren’t concerned about their education would be allowed in. Additionally, students might become less concerned about whether or not they squander their time in college without a financial risk.

However, these arguments are seriously flawed. Whether or not someone can afford college does not determine whether or not they will take it seriously. As it stands, the additional financial burden does nothing to make some students take it seriously, and only causes problems for the serious students.

If we are to make education easier for everyone, we need to push for the government to enact the necessary changes. There are various ways that we can work towards this. Protesting the war or the high cost of education, voting in politicians who believe in free college, and writing to our congressmen to ask them to push for such reforms all help in bringing about change.

With enough effort, we can make it so that college debt is simply a thing of the past.

Conservative? Liberal? How about Libertarian

By Lee Lukoff

When asked to describe their personal political preference, most people would characterize themselves as either a liberal or conservative. Lost in the mix is the small cadre of intellectuals who call themselves Libertarians. I believe that if most college students knew what a libertarian was, they would be more likely to call themselves a libertarian instead of either a liberal or a conservative.

While liberals claim that they may be helping the poor by redistributing wealth and creating a welfare state, one just needs to look at the failure of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society to disprove their argument. On the other hand, conservatives claim to advocate small government and individual liberty yet they vote for legislation such as the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and the Patriot Act.

Since neither ideology seems to promote prosperity and liberty, one should take a moment to hear about libertarianism and its benefits.

Libertarianism is deeply rooted in personal responsibility and individual liberty. What type of person wouldn’t want to be free make their own decisions free from government influence? A libertarian believes that the government should have no right to coerce an individual into doing anything. This includes taking away the fruits of your own labor through taxation, forced military conscription or any type of law that would regulate personal habits such as eating, sexual, or moral behaviors.

Libertarians believe that an individual can do whatever he so pleases so long as it does not hurt another person. Libertarians may advocate the legalization of drugs like marijuana by deferring responsibility to the individual instead of to the government as conservatives do.

While Libertarians oppose government interference, they do advocate for particular policies that were apparent to the founding fathers of our country but have since been blurred by a government that seeks to try and run the lives of its citizens. Libertarians fiercely advocate that the natural rights of life, liberty, and property must be protected by any means necessary. This includes allowing individuals to protect themselves with firearms.

Today, whenever a crime occurs the blame is placed on the weapon instead of the individual. To make it look like politicians are doing something about the problem, they propose banning weapons. This gives the government a defacto monopoly on force. As we saw in Myanmar, when the government has complete control over the use of force the people are helpless in fighting a tyrannical government.

Another stance that libertarians hold is the belief in free market economics. Free market economics include the abolishment of government interference in the marketplace. Whether interference comes through tariffs, taxes, subsidies, trade barriers or preferential government treatment to any product or service, libertarians believe that such practices are destructive in nature and have a negative effect on the economy.

Libertarians also believe in hard money where money is backed by something such as gold. They are highly critical of a government run monetary system like the Federal Reserve where the government prints money out of thin air. This causes inflation and depreciates the value of the dollar hitting the poor and middle class citizens hardest.

Libertarians also oppose government agencies or programs intended to provide a service. The Food & Drug Administration, FEMA and Medicare are a few examples of agencies that they believe should be abolished. Instead of the government doing the job, libertarians would defer responsibility to the private sector or private charities because they can provide the service in a more efficient manor.

Just think, are FDA certified food products always safe? Who would do a better job cleaning up a disaster: the Red Cross or FEMA? Which plan would provide better healthcare for Americans: “Hillary Care,” with government-run socialized medicine or a private doctor/patient relationship?

I’m sure most students would agree that more individual liberty and responsibility is a good thing. Why else would you have left your parents house and shacked up in a college dorm instead? I’m also sure that a large majority of college students would be outraged if they were conscripted into the military.

As for all the hard hours you worked at your part-time job to pay for school, how would you feel if the government taxed you at a higher rate and gave the money to another person who didn’t work for it? To add insult to injury, what would you think if the same government simultaneously printed more money that cheapened the value of your hard earned dollar?

If you find that you agree with me on most of what I’ve said, call yourself a libertarian.

INKLINGS

I’m a senior? When did that happen?!

By Allison Reitz

It’s that time of the semester again. We’re finally comfortable with our class schedules, settled enough to be productive and acquainted with our professors and classmates. And now we have to shake it up and start thinking about next semester. It’s always strange to be forced to think months in advance, but the experience is especially strange this time around.

Like my Class of 2008 peers, next semester is my last as an undergraduate at UMass Dartmouth. Instead of just worrying about what requirements to fill and how many credits to take, my mind is filled with questions about post-graduation. Some of my classmates are continuing their studies at the graduate level. Others already have jobs lined up through past internships. And then there are those of us (like me) who have no idea what we’re going to do after we walk across that stage.

Regardless of how far ahead we’ve planned for post-graduation, registering for classes is just another reminder to seniors that we’re going to be on our own in T minus six months. And then there are the notices about senior portraits, discussions about what to do for senior week (please, anything but a trip to trashy Las Vegas), deadlines for senior thesis work.... Where’d the time go?

It seems like just yesterday that we were all nervous and awkward freshmen, getting lost on our way to classes (“Group III? What the heck is that?!”) and trying to find a friend to sit with in Res. I won’t say that being a senior doesn’t have its perks — because it does — and I certainly don’t miss being a shy, unsure freshman. But I do miss the freedom of the weekends when I didn’t have five essays to write and weeknights when I could just sit in front of the TV and space out.

At the time, those were things I took for granted. Free time was so abundant that it became a bore. But now, I can’t think of what I wouldn’t give to be bored every once in a while. Sadly, being a senior comes with responsibilities that can’t be ignored. And as much as I joke about wanting to fail a few classes to prolong my inevitable graduation, that’s not a plan that I would realistically want to put into practice.

Suddenly I realize what senior friends from previous years were talking about when they mentioned “senioritis.” It’s more than just wanting to be done with senior year. It’s wanting to be done with senior year — but not done with college. It’s wanting to have the spare time of a freshman without the anxieties of freshman year. It’s wanting to find a 9-to-5 job with all of your friends so that you can all hang out after work, like evenings during freshman year when no one had any homework.

As for me, I tell people that I have plans to go into journalism, but actually, I really want to stop aging and live at college for the rest of my life. ...Just without all the work. I haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet. If you have any ideas about that, please let me know. I’ll be the one in the library daydreaming over a stack of books.

Allison Reitz is the editor-in-chief of The Torch. Please forward your questions, comments, concerns and senioritis stories to Allison at u_areitz@umassd.edu.

Freshman 15: Not just a food battle for freshmen

By Jeff Trull

With the great eating holiday of Thanksgiving soon to come, many students have already had sufficient time to put on the “freshman 15.”

While I hope that you haven’t, the “15” is no myth. Each year, freshman college students who struggle to adapt to cafeteria meals, where unlimited portions are available, pack on a few extra pounds. This extra weight has been dubbed the “freshman 15.”

Of course this isn’t limited to only freshman, as other students face food issues as well. Eating healthy is a challenge, especially when a plethora of unhealthy options are at our fingertips. With that being said, much of the weight gaining starts at our stomach’s worst enemy: the Resident Cafeteria!

Back when I was a freshman, I first remember being excited about the all-you-can-eat nature of the cafeteria. Pizza was available in unlimited quantities all of the time. Belgian waffles prepared on demand could be consumed when the main dish wasn’t so appetizing. Instead of eating whatever my mom prepared back home, there were many options to choose from.

The first few weeks of school, my dream became a reality. I stuffed myself at each meal, often times returning for seconds or third servings. But then reality set in. I realized that I would soon pack on extra weight that I had heard about if I didn’t change my eating habits.

The food selection in our Resident Cafeteria does little to provide students with healthier eating choices. Upon starting college, I was met with pizza and fries offered at both lunch and dinner every day of the week! If this doesn’t already sound like a problem to you, perhaps you have some nutrition issues yourself.

I’ve seen many students go on a “French fry diet”, which is simply miserable for your health. Pasta, also served at every meal, is low in fat but high in carbohydrates and calories. The main course alternatives aren’t always much healthier either. Foods like fried chicken, tater tots, and sausage are all served extra greasy and contain high amounts of fat.

Vegetables are offered at each meal as well but are typically unappealing. The salad bar is always a safe bet for healthy eating, but even those choices have been cut down this semester from years past.

Despite the relatively unhealthy food offered in the cafeteria, the school dining service has taken some positive steps to cut down on portion sizes. In the past, students were allowed to serve themselves at each food station in the cafeteria. Many students took two plates at a time and stacked food up on their plates as if they were planning on feeding an entire family. This is no longer the case anymore, as students are served their food by cafeteria staff, limiting students in portion size.

Not only does this measure cut down on food waste, but it can also cut down on overeating. When piling large amounts of food on your plate, the tendency is to eat it all. I find that I almost always clean off my entire plate. On the other hand, if you start with smaller portions, you may be less prone to go up and get more food, cutting down on overeating.

Unfortunately for underclassmen, Res is unavoidable. Freshmen and most sophomores don’t have a choice about eating the cafeteria food. Since students who live in the any of the freshman dorms, Oak Glen, and Pine Dale are required to purchase a meal plan, most resident students are forced to deal with Res for two years.

For these students, I suggest simply trying to eat as healthy as possible. Be realistic about what’s really good for you. Obviously pizza, French fries, and other fried or greasy entrées are going to pack on the weight. While it’s unrealistic to propose avoiding these foods altogether, at least mix in vegetables, fruits, and other healthy options to prevent filling up on all the bad stuff.

As for upper classmen, I would suggest skipping a meal plan altogether. On top of the poor quality and unhealthy options available at Res, meal plans are expensive. Meal plans start at $2,636 for a full academic year, and that plan only gets you five meals a week. Assuming there are 15 weeks per semester, costs come to $85 a week. Imagine what you can buy in groceries with that much money!

Yes, I know that you have to prepare the food yourself, but there are still plenty of benefits to buying your own food. You can choose to buy whatever you want and eat it whenever you want.

From a health standpoint, many dishes you prepare yourself can be healthier than what is offered in the cafeteria. With stir-fry, you can add almost any meat or vegetable. It is easy to prepare, takes only a few minutes to make and is a healthy alternative to fried food. There are many healthy options that come frozen and can be stored in the freezer for weeks or months.

If your eating habits have been off-track so far this semester, put in a little effort to get back on. Everyone wants to eat the fatty foods all the time, but let’s be realistic — often the tastiest foods are the least healthy ones.

For those who will still stick to your daily pizza regime, I wish you the best of luck with keeping off those 15 pounds.