We are writing in response Nick Southall’s April 5 letter, “Senate ticket should consider options more fairly.” We appreciate the opportunity to start a public dialogue about the costs and benefits of the guaranteed tuition model, and will explain why FUSS believes it is necessary and appropriate to oppose the model actively right now.
In his letter, Southall stated that FUSS’s stance that “the new model will not alleviate student indebtedness … is nothing more than a presupposition … There is no evidence to make an argument for or against such a model yet.”
We are happy to point out that the administration has already provided us with plenty of evidence to conclude that the guaranteed tuition model will not relieve student debt.
In their Feb. 26 testimony given to the Statehouse, President McDavis and other administrators stated that, “guaranteed tuition programs are not tuition savings plans but rather are intended to provide transparency and predictability.” Furthermore, the same testimony showed that after four years students would be paying approximately the same total cost, regardless of the tuition model used. Predictability should not be confused with affordability.
FUSS also believes that a guaranteed tuition program makes it easier for the Board of Trustees to raise tuition every year, because the students currently attending will have no self-interest to advocate against future tuition hikes. Tuition will still go up every year for incoming students, and with little on-campus opposition, the Board of Trustees will feel more comfortable raising tuition every year because they will have no fear of student backlash.
Southall continues to believe that we should wait “for the details about the model to come in,” before coming out in complete opposition. We would like to politely remind him of a September letter to The Post he co-wrote with the other Student Senate commissioners in regards to the administration’s policies, in which they stated, “We will have to distrust until every detail is verified.” But Southall’s more recent rhetoric points to a change of heart. He appears to trust that the administration will somehow come forward with a mysterious piece of exonerating evidence refuting the mountain of data discrediting the model.
Finally, urgency is in fact required on this issue. The Board of Trustees will be discussing this model on April 19 and could potentially vote on it as early as September, giving students little time to react. We call on VOICE to stand with students and FUSS in opposing the destructive guaranteed tuition model.
We have seen the data. We have weighed the options. Guaranteed tuition is a false solution to student debt.
Matt Farmer is a junior studying political science. Jacob Chaffin is a senior studying education. Rebekah Rittenberg is a junior studying education. They are candidates for Student Senate president, vice president and treasurer, respectively, on the FUSS ticket.
