The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: free tuition

  • Make it free, make it through

    Make it free, make it through

    The need for a publicly funded higher education system is apparent

    Since I moved to the United States for my study abroad semester, one thing that I’ve noticed that puts a lot of pressure on students here in general is tuition fees.

    With growing stress and mental health issues for students in general, the United States as a country should actively be working towards introducing a publicly funded higher education system.

    Being from Sweden, where university is free for all citizens, the fact that students have to pay to get an education baffles me. The U.S. is a country with split views in general on heavy topics like this. However, the fact that some students have to say no to getting a higher education because they can’t pay for the tuition is just wrong.

    One argument for introducing a publicly funded higher education system is taking the pressure away from students. Over the short period that I’ve been here, I’ve had multiple discussions with different people about their fears of having to drop out because they can’t pay for tuition, or they can’t afford food because the fact that they’ve just paid for school that month.

    Many students worry about their parents spending money they don’t have to put them through school. While considering the fact that one of the major mental health issues facing students at this time in history is stress and anxiety, always walking around worrying about how to pay for tuition can’t be helping this in any way. If anything, it should be argued that the stress of having to pay to stay in school could lead students not performing as well as they could.

    Another argument for introducing a tuition free higher education system is that a majority of Americans want it. According to a poll conducted in November of 2017 by Peen Schoen Berland on behalf of the Campaign for Free College Tuition, there is a general support from America, from both red and blue states, for free tuition at public universities and colleges for students who are academically qualified. According to the poll the overall support is strong with 73 percent of the people asked in favor.

    Some people might argue that introducing a free tuition college system would lead to students not taking their education seriously because of the fact that there is less pressure on them with not having to pay. While understandable, while looking at numbers from countries such as Sweden, where the average student performance indicator in 2013/14 showed that 82% of all higher education students in Sweden were achieving all the HE credits they registered for, that argument becomes void.

    The best way for the United States to help students attending higher education would be to seriously consider how they as a country can deal with the issue of tuition.

    By introducing a free tuition college system for students that are academically qualified, they introduce a system with less pressure of payments where students can focus on what really matters, getting an education.

  • This week in news (April 5 to April 11)

    This week in news (April 5 to April 11)

    Local

    -Baywood Country Club

    The Baywood country club is broke and is soon planning a golf course timber harvest. The country club is going to file a Timber Harvest plan that looks to lodge roughly 73 forested acres in and around its 18 holes. The harvest could make as much as $700,000 for the country club.

    Source: Mad River Union

    -New tech for St. Joseph’s

    St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka has new technology that could help take a closer look at people’s lungs and chest. St. Joseph’s Hospital has the first and only Endobronchial Ultrasound, a device that helps doctors take a closer look at the lungs and chest.

    The machine helps evaluate and examine lymph nodes, identify chest infections, diagnose non cancerous inflammatory disease like sarcoidosis, detect lymphoma and determine stages of lung cancer.

    Source: Times Standard

    -Eureka Moose Lodge

    The Eureka Moose Lodge donated $10,000 to local fire and law enforcement agencies. One donation of $2,000 went to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Animal Shelter for use towards the shelter’s emergency medical fund. The money will be used to help animals in need of medical attention.

    Source: News Channel 3

    -Karuk tribe cuts salmon count

    The Karuk tribe is going to limit their ceremonial salmon harvests for tribal members because of the record low forecast for returning Chinook salmon on the Klamath River.

    Source: Times Standard

    U.S.

    -San Bernardino shooting

    A man walked into North Park Elementary school and started shooting. Cedric Anderson, 53 walked into the elementary school and fatally shot his estranged wife and an 8-year-old boy and injured one other students. The shooting came 15 months after the terrorist attack San Bernardino endured November of 2014.

    Source: Washington Post

    -United Airlines passenger dragged

    A United Airlines passenger was dragged from an overbooked flight Sunday evening. A security officer involved in the incident has been placed on leave. The federal Transportation Department is investigating whether the airline complied with rules regarding overbooking.

    Source: New York Times

    -Gun shop burglary

    A man suspected of a gun shop burglary is on the run after allegedly sending a manifesto to President Donald Trump on his grievances about the government. Joseph A. Jakubowski, 32, allegedly robbed the gun shop in Janesville, Wisconsin last week.

    Source: CNN

    -Texas voter ID law discriminates

    A federal judge ruled that the voter identification law the Texas Legislature passed in 2011 was enacted with the intent to discriminate against Black and Hispanic voters. The judge found that the law violates the federal Voter Rights Act.

    Source: New York Times

    -NY State free tuition

    The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced free tuition in the state of New York. New York is the first state in the country to offer free tuition for middle-class students from households earning less than $125,000 a year.

    Source: Now This

    World

    -Stockholm truck attack

    A truck ran into pedestrians in one of the busiest streets in Stockholm killing four people. Two suspects were arrested. One suspect, a 39-year-old man from the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, was known to intelligence services before he was arrested on Friday. He had shown sympathies for ISIS.

    Source: BBC News

    -Growing tensions with North Korea

    The U.S. Navy sent an aircraft carrier and three guided-missile destroyers and cruisers to the Korean peninsula on Saturday, in response to growing tensions with North Korea. On Monday, officials in China and South Korea agreed to impose a tougher stance on North Korea if Kim Jong Un continues to launch nuclear or long range missile tests.

    Source: New York Times

  • A master plan for free tuition

    A master plan for free tuition

    By Charlotte Rutigliano

    Can California follow in the footsteps of many European countries and offer free tuition for students?

    While CSU students across the state are currently protesting a 5 percent tuition hike, in Sacramento  Governor Brown reaffirms his commitment to protect access to higher education, and of a plan for free tuition across the state of California. As of now, it’s just talk.

    Most current students and prospective students have not heard about this plan, and some have mixed feelings about it.

    Jake Morrison a 21-year-old senior communications major said he thought it would be both a good and bad thing.

    “It would be good in the sense that it would make knowledge and education more accessible,” Morrison said. “But bad in the sense that it would probably cause a rise in Americans immigrating to California, and we already have a population and housing issue in the state.”

    Alyssa Buie a 21-year-old junior business marketing major said it greatly benefits many people in the state though she doesn’t think the state could afford something like free tuition.

    “It would be beyond beneficial for students of all ages in all walks of life,” Buie said. “But it’s a little economically unfeasible.”

    Even people that have thought about going back to school like 22-year-old McDonald’s general manager, Lindsey Blood, said it seems great and she would be more inclined to go back if tuition were free.

    “It would encourage people to invest in themselves,” Blood said. “And it would give a lot of people opportunities they would otherwise not have.”

    The idea of free tuition it brings up many questions such as, would students take it just as seriously and go to classes as when they had some type of financial investment? Would they be more likely to choose passion over job security? Would they be more likely to further their education and go on to graduate school or get a doctorate?