I will begin by saying that the FUSS campaign is making accusations and spreading falsehoods that the VOICE campaign’s neutral position toward the guaranteed tuition model is automatically one of support. I am writing this letter to dispel such falsehoods. The flawed mentality, which is indicative of the FUSS campaign, is this: You’re either with us or you’re against us. This sort of radical attitude, this polarization of issues and this inability to weigh separate sides of every argument does not bode well for any leader in any position.
Let me make our position clear: VOICE does not support the guaranteed tuition model, nor do we believe that narrow-minded opposition to any model — the details of which have yet to manifest themselves — is productive or beneficial. The FUSS campaign, candidly, is jumping the gun. They say that the new model will not alleviate student indebtedness, and it should be thrown out accordingly. But this belief is nothing more than a presupposition. Instead of looking at the details of such a model, as VOICE intends to do, they seem to know offhand that such a model would be devastating to students. I ask, can they quantify their arguments? The answer is no. There is no evidence to make an argument for or against such a model yet. It may be the case that once the details about the model come in that it is indeed detrimental to students, and in that case I and every member of my ticket would wholeheartedly stand against it. As I’ve said, however, open-mindedness is the hallmark of a worthwhile leader, and shutting down an idea that has even the remotest possibility of easing the burden on our students should not be so carelessly discarded.
There is also the rumor that the Board of Trustees will somehow be voting on and approving this model before the end of the academic year. This is a blatant falsehood, and if perpetuated intentionally is nothing short of a scare tactic. It is best to wait and weigh all sides of an issue before deciding. Something as significant as a tuition model should not and will not be decided in haste.
Nick Southall is a junior studying integrated language arts, Student Senate’s Residence Life commissioner and a candidate for Student Senate president running on the VOICE ticket.
