Student Body Presidents: Budget Cuts Threaten Dream of a Higher Education
By Eming Piansay
New America Media
With public universities in California being targeted for drastic budget cuts, college-bound students are bracing for a now uncertain future. How many students will be able to secure financial aid? Will universities be offering scholarships and fellowships to low-income students? Which courses and departments will be cut out of the curriculum? Will tuition fees at public universities and community colleges be hiked once again?
Those questions are weighing heavy on the minds of the student body presidents interviewed for this report, all of whom agreed that the biggest concern facing them and their classmates is how the financial crisis is going to damage their ability to obtain a college degree. In fact, the student presidents said that for many of their peers, a college degree is seen as the “golden ticket” -- the only thing guaranteeing their survival in a suddenly uncertain world.
