California’s jewel is being tarnished

The Occupy UC Davis protesters chant, “Whose university? Our university!” But who is “our”? Whom does the university belong to?

I think when most people hear this chant, they think that the university belongs to the students, and, of course, that is true. It is also true that the university belongs to the staff and faculty who put their hearts and souls into making UC Davis the world-class institution it is.

Perhaps less obviously, UC Davis and the entire UC, CSU and community college system belong to all of California. It is California’s higher education system that creates thoughtful citizens, knowledgeable about the world around them and ready to participate fully in our democracy. It is California’s higher education system that spurs innovation and job growth, and for decades, was one of the main reasons that people moved to California.

But now, our university is under attack. In 2006-07, fees were $6,141. By 2011-12, fees were up to $13,860. The regents of the University of California are now considering a proposal for increases of 8 to 16 percent over the next four years, possibly bringing the fees as high as $22,068 for the 2015-16 school year.

Higher tuition means that our formerly public institutions move ever closer to privatization and ever further away from the promise of educating all who qualify, regardless of ability to pay.

Concurrent with these fee increases are decreases in the number of available courses and increases in class sizes. Hiring has slowed and salaries have fallen far behind comparable universities, hurting our ability to attract and retain top talent and maintain UC’s position among the great research universities.

California’s jewel — our public higher education system — is being tarnished. We urge everyone to let the regents and the California Legislature know that we will not let this happen to our university.

Aldo Antonelli, David Copp, Gerald Dworkin, Joel I. Friedman, James R. Griesemer, Elaine Landry, Robert May, Roberta L. Millstein and Marina Oshana, all of whom are professors in the department of philosophy at UC Davis

Davis

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=109276

Posted by Letters to the Editor on Nov 25 2011.
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