COLUMN: Kudos to Kermit for tuition increase proposal
As one walks across the Quad, you can almost hear the cursings. “Kermit All.”
President Hall has come under fire as of late for his authoring of a USU tuition increase of 43 percent over the next three years. A few examples from past letters to the editor go to prove my point:
“Perhaps President Hall should spend a summer working a peon job here in Cache County or on campus for $6/hour, pay rent and other living expenses and then consider if an increase of over $1,000 in tuition is reasonable, responsible and necessary” (Sept. 10, 2004).
“President Hall’s tuition increase proposal is a quick fix that will leave Utah State University crippled in a few years. Students and the faculty will feel the effects of this student tuition increase well after President Hall has moved on to a bigger and higher paying job such as the one he applied for in the spring at the University of Tennessee” (Sept. 15, 2004).
You’d think the poor guy was pocketing the extra tuition money. And yet, most jump on the bandwagon.
So maybe the plan’s a little outrageous. But the man’s got guts.
He has taken it on himself to present and defend the tuition increase. He hasn’t passed on the responsibility to someone else. He has been forthright in outlying the proposal, allowing for open criticism. He has promised to visit every college and discuss the tuition proposal to answer any questions and hear any alternatives.
But asking for such a drastic tuition won’t make you a lot of friends. How many students really like the idea of paying an extra $1,000 in tuition? So why do it?
Most see it as a sort of last-resort effort. The very title of the plan “We Are on Our Own” hints at such a tactic. And to a certain extent, I agree.
But, I’ve got my own theory.
For starters, by citing an increase as outrageous as 43 percent, the plan could finally grab the attention of state legislators. Call it a wake-up call, if you will.
We could disguise the plan with the standard 10-15 percent increase, and just keep getting by. Then, the state would never recognize the problem, and every year we can go through the same ordeal with budget deficits, no faculty salary increases, and small, yet substantial tuition increases.
Or if we, as students, really realized the gravity of the problem, then we’d react. Then we’d do something. In the past, President Hall’s petitioning the state Legislature for more funding has been unsuccessful at best. But, what if thousands of really ticked off college students did. Then, we’d be in business.
Frankly, I think it’s brilliant.
A little scandal never hurt anyone.
In the meantime, President Hall is exhausting every option at his fingertips to better the university. With a recent trip to the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce and other efforts in both the public and private sector, he’s trying to do anything to help.
It’s sad to see the state of Utah higher education when a school’s top administrator must convert himself into a fundraiser just to see the school get by.
Frankly, I can’t blame President Hall for applying for another position at the University of Tennessee, nor can I blame the estimated 35 faculty members who left USU last year to seek out greener pastures than that of Aggieland.
But if President Hall has his way, that will soon change.
So for those of you looking for a scapegoat, don’t look at President Hall. For starters, I’d look at the state Legislature, and if all else fails, I’m sure Michael Moore can somehow be blamed.
But in the meantime, for Kermit, it ain’t easy being green.
Jon Cox is a junior majoring in journalism. Comments can be sent to jcox@cc.usu.edu.