Failures of Feb7
On February 7'th the SAC, in combination with the CFS, have planned a protest again rising tuition fees. The SAC/CFS argue that they are trying to make post-secondary education more accessible. Unfortunately what SAC/CFS are asking for - freezing tuition - does not help this worthy cause. SAC and the CFS are embarrassing the students they claim to be representing, while spending their money on a message that many students do not agree with.
Accessibility to education should be a high priority for everyone, and no one should be turned away from university for financial reasons. The SAC and the CFS believe that freezing tuition fees will solve this problem. However this couldn't be further from the truth. Tuition freezes do not help the people who already cannot afford university. They do not help the overcrowding in classrooms that the SAC complains about. They only help keep it accessible to the students who are already attending. To make post-secondary education accessible to *everyone*, one has to have a system with loans, bursaries, and other financial support. This is the only way all potential students have the financial means required to study.
The SAC/CFS are creating an artificial protest, which is not supported by many of it's members. Many students around the campus are disgusted that the SAC/CFS are spending this amount of money towards a cause that they don't agree with. It is clear that this is not a real "movement" because people are attending the events for alternative reasons (such as a free concert). When there is sincere opposition there are large scale protests, such as the ones in France where 200'000 to 400'000 people protested the new labour laws - resulting in the closing of some universities.
It is claimed that many students agree with the SAC/CFS's cause since they would like lower tuition fees. However this statement is mostly meaningless without context, since it does not address the issue of how the quality of education will be affected, nor who's going to pay for the costs. Of course everyone would like other people to pay for their luxuries. However this is an unrealistic expectation. The University in Toronto is less expensive than many other places to study, while offering a world class education. Not only that but the predicted increases in tuition fees are lower than the US where schools boast about only having a rise of just 4.1%.[1]
The SAC and CFS are misleading both students and the public in regards to expectations and support respectively. Post-secondary education does require more funding, but not for tuition freezes. If you disagree with how the SAC/CFS is representing you in regards to this issue I encourage you to send an email directly to Jen Hassum (SAC president) and/or attend the next meeting, which is on February 14'th.
comments/critique? Send it to: comments@stumm.ca
[1] http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/17/pf/college/college_costs/index.htm