LETTER: Tuition increase raises questions

To the editor:

    Concerning the tuition increase, I can understand that the university is trying to make up for lost revenue, however, what guarantee is there that the this increase will be rescinded once the economy does turn around, even if I’m no longer around? The trend that I’ve been seeing these last few years is that when the price of the most important services rise much faster than inflation, then crisis is around the corner. The most recent, of which we are all aware, was the housing market. My thoughts during this time was that, at some point, someone was going to have to pay these mortgages. The quick answer seems to be that everyone is, and not in a good way. 
    We are seeing something similar with health care, and I believe that a large part of the problem is the tuition that universities charge medical students in order to pay some of these medical professor’s salaries. As a case in point, visit http://www.utahsright.com/salaries.php?city=u_of_u&query= to see that the highest paid public employee in Utah is a doctor at the University of Utah making over a million dollars per year. Charging high tuition to medical students creates debts that are passed on to the consumer, which in this case is the patient. High doctor’s fees increase the risk of bankruptcy which affects all of us. More to the point, the third visible thing that has been rising much faster than inflation is tuition, in general; USU is no exception. Charging higher tuition means more money to pay back after graduation. If this money cannot be paid back, how does that affect the economy? Do we want USU to be an asset to the community it is intended to serve or be a burden? Do we want it be another active member in contributing to a future economic collapse? These are just a couple of things to think about.

Juan T. Trujillo