Quite frankly speaking, we are really tired of reading offensive and reactionary articles that scream, “I hate poor people.” Last week’s article by Judy Kim in The Signal does just that.
Kim argued that “Education is not a right, but a big business.” The core of her argument seems to rest on an arbitrary distinction between K-12 and higher education. We get the first twelve grades free, she argues, and we’re on our own after that. Without any evidence, she makes the bold claim that it’s “very possible for one to get a job and make a living without a college degree.” She seems totally oblivious to the fact that the unemployment rate among high school graduates is over twice that of those with bachelor’s degrees, a statistic cited in an article published in the very same issue of The Signal.
But let’s address the idea of whether or not education is a right: No, education is not a right. Education is a civic responsibility. We cannot function as a society without developing ourselves to be critical thinkers, intellectually and socially. One of the best places to do this is within a university. However, when a university becomes a business, the ability for students to become critical thinkers is profoundly challenged. A university as a business packs us into classrooms, gives us standardized tests, as pushes us out the door. Our diploma becomes a receipt. The university is no longer about education, but about profit.
Kim argues that students have simply “misunderstood” the purpose of a university. But in fact, it is Kim that has misunderstood. While she admits that the university has become a business, she is more than willing to accept this fact as not only okay but also not the university’s fault. If students don’t like it, Kim says, “Search for a damn scholarship. Apply for many. Do some real work.” statements are blatantly offensive to every single student at this school who works long hours, studies through the night, and worries about how they’re going to pay for this semester’s tuition – all so they can receive an education.
The university is a business, and this is precisely the problem. Since 2007, student mandatory fees have risen from $463 to $1064. Tuition has risen 46% since 2008. This has all occurred alongside cuts to departments, causing teacher’s to have to ‘go green’ and no longer print materials for their students. Teachers and workers have been furloughed, class sizes increased, and supplies cut. This is what a business calls “efficiency.” But apparently, Kim says we’re supposed to trust that all of these budget cuts and increased fees “will be put into good use.” This assertion goes directly against every other article currently published in mainstream and local media, including TheSignal and AJC. The Signal has repeatedly written articles about the ban on undocumented students, the fee hikes, and an op-ed on GSU’s wasteful promotional spending and their disregard for parking. Even more dramatically, the AJC has produced a six part series of the University System of Georgia’s “spending spree” for such things as golf courses.
Where exactly is Kim getting her information? And where then is the “good use” of our increased tuition going to? It’s certainly not into your education or mine, but it does seem to be in the pockets of our highest-ranking administrators. GSU’s President Becker receives $600,000+ in addition to a housing stipend. Us? We have our scholarship money for books taken away. That’s not the worst of it, though. Ex-presidents and chancellors are getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for years after their retirement. Former GSU President Carl Patton was paid $365,571 in 2009, the year after he left office. But, hey, they’re working hard for that advantage, right?
26 million Americans are out of a job. 40% of those receiving food stamps work for a wage, showing that wages can’t even cover basic needs. At the same time, the average work week has shrunk to 33 hours. Real unemployment, including people who are underemployed and people who have stopped looking for work, is at 16%, slightly above 1930. Federal studies show more than half of college students work more than 20 hours a week. This must be that “survival of the fittest phenomenon” that Kim seems so keen on glorifying.
Kim concludes her article by stating, “After 18 years, I would like to think we’re all grown enough to know that we work for what we want to earn and that nothing in life is ever really truly given.” Well, it’s time we tell the truth about what’s going on around us. We’re working hard, really hard, and it’s still not enough. We’re not lazy or stupid, and we want our education more than ever. We’re tired from standing on our feet all day at work, and we’re tired about worrying whether or not we can pay for each new fee. We want an education, and we want it now.
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