OPINION & EDITORIAL
Diversity via affordability
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Also by Taylor Hughes:
- Work makes UW worth it (May 10, 2007)
- Cultivating leadership (May 9, 2007)
- Getting by without the books (May 8, 2007)
Related Stories:
- UW housing neglects rights (September 22, 2006)
- Diversity vital on UW campus (May 3, 2006)
- An open letter on diversity (March 28, 2005)
- Make room at the top (October 17, 2002)
- Diversity is more than race (September 6, 2001)
by Taylor Hughes
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Chancellor John Wiley wrote Monday about continuing to make the University of Wisconsin’s campus more diverse. The UW administration “[remains] absolutely committed to building an inclusive community free of social bias and inclusion,” he said. And creating a campus atmosphere free of social bias should absolutely be a priority at this university.
Boasting academically superb students from a variety of backgrounds and whose economic class is insignificant should always be a goal. In order to create a truly exceptional atmosphere on campus, UW must first allow students from all financial backgrounds affordable entrance.
The goal of keeping this campus economically diverse is unreachable, however, when one group of students is forced to pay near-impossible and ever-rising tuition rates: those non-Wisconsin residents without reciprocity. These individuals face an economic pass/fail test upon considering attendance to UW; at a price rivaling exclusive private universities across the country, the tuition here causes many potentially enriching applicants to drop out of the race before the starting pistol has even been fired.
As a result, broad stereotypes exist about all sorts of out-of-state students. Illinois natives and those flying in from the Northeast are considered by many students both Wisconsinite and otherwise to be pretentious and exclusive. Conflicts arise in bars and house parties with not-so-flattering nicknames like “FIB” (F@#$ing Illinois Bastard) and “Coastie” being tossed around like bad hot lunch in a fifth-grade cafeteria fight. After all, spotting a non-resident is easy for most Madisonians — just look for Ugg boots, pointy shoes and fraternity brothers driving German sport utility vehicles.
The largest group of out-of-state students, however, faces no such negative profiling: no widely accepted three-letter acronym exists for Minnesota natives, nor can one of our northern friends be identified outright while strolling down State Street.
And for good reason. The FIB and Coastie stereotypes, albeit sometimes misleading and untrue, exist because they’re generally true. The only non-resident students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin are those whose checkbooks are fat enough to afford it.
Ask any UW student from Illinois about his or her hometown and the description will probably fall in line with an affluent Chicago suburb: an area sporting good schools, a bustling economy and plenty of well-off families. It’s no coincidence — rich suburbs are where wealth and strong educational values come together to breed college-bound teens who can both afford expensive tuition and make the selective cut Madison’s admissions office makes each year.
In stark contrast, the Minnesotan student body doesn’t fit into just one tax bracket: those students don’t face a clean-cutting financial weed-out process. Attending this university is within the grasp of most any resident of Minnesota, whether or not his or her parents are highly paid executives.
UW is a state-funded school that depends on Sconnies’ tax revenue to provide a good education for Wisconsin residents. Students from Illinois, Virginia and otherwise — or perhaps their parents — don’t usually pay this state’s taxes, so non-residents need to fill the gap somehow. That makes sense. By simply increasing non-resident tuition to compensate, however, the Board of Regents creates an elite band of incoming foreigners and weaves a web of social tension across this campus that grows thicker by the year.
And the education Wisconsin residents receive thanks to those state tax dollars ends up encompassing a slew of misconceptions regarding other states near and far.
Working toward a more equal-footed student body should include initiatives to somehow diversify incoming non-residents. Not by actively discriminating against the wealthy, but by giving those not-quite-privileged-enough students a chance: either through an increased number of financial-aid programs, lower out-of-state tuition or possibly the development of inter-state funding agreements between high-attendance states like Illinois.
This institution should not invite only privileged non-residents to attend: the cost of a less diverse student body and the proliferation and reinforcement of negative stereotypes and sentiments is too great for a forward-looking university to bear.
Taylor Hughes (thughes@badgerherald.com) is a sophomore intending to major in business.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 8:16am):
Very well-written piece, Taylor. In fact, you have persuaded me to stop making fun of people like you with funny haircuts.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 9:29am):
"The only non-resident students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin are those whose checkbooks are fat enough to afford it."
you mean "those whose daddy's checkbooks are fat enough to afford it"
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 9:35am):
You should try wearing a beret.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 10:12am):
I think you will find that students from Minnesota more closely resemble out of state students than they due native Wisconsites. That is because although they pay reduced tutition (though still more than in-state), they face the same elevated academic standards that the rest of the out of state population does.
Native Wisconsites should thank their lucky stars that out of state students are willing to come in and raise the bar culturally and academically. It makes their degree more valuable and their college experience more interesting.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 10:46am):
"I think you will find that students from Minnesota more closely resemble out of state students than they due native Wisconsites."
"do" not "due". Minnesota students and other out-of-state students also seem to raise the cumulative IQ of the student population here as well. The apparently large number of native Wisconsin residents who can't spell certainly gives the impression that Wisconsin is a very bad choice for higher education.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 11:30am):
Actually, standards for Wisconsinites to be admitted are higher that of out of state applicants. While this may not include Minnesota (because of reciprocity), UW needs to admit a certain portion of non-residents to increase the funds it recieves for tuition. This essentially equals easier admittance for non-residents because they are brining in significantly more money.
Just ask the last Wisconsin High School senior with a 3.4 GPA and a 26 ACT why they didn't get accepted. I doubt any non-resident like that would be turned away....
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 11:32am):
....I don't mean to suggest that non-residents aren't as smart, that's just the way it is for financial reasons.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 12:53pm):
I promise you that plenty of out of state students with 3.4 GPAs and 26 ACTs are being turned away. Sadly these statistics are not readily available on the internet but it is common knowledge to everybody but you that out of state requirements are higher. Wisconsin is typically a safety school for students from out of state that are also applying to Michigan, Northwestern, and private schools.
Yes, UW does depend on out of state tuition to balance the books, but first and foremost UW is tasked to serve the students (children of taxpayers) of Wisconsin.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 1:58pm):
Taylor might want to check this out, but I believe the state of Illinois is the roadblock to reciprocity -- as it exists between Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 2:27pm):
"Actually, standards for Wisconsinites to be admitted are higher that of out of state applicants."
No, they're not. It is harder for out-of-state applicants to be admitted than it is for in-state.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 3:00pm):
The trump factor is race. A favored minority is almost guaranteed admission with those statistics, no matter where they come from.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 3:25pm):
We shouldn't even have state schools or public schools for K-12. If people want to get an education they should have to pay for it. If they want their children to learn to read they should have to pay for that too. Why are my tax dollars giving you students a free ride by subsidizing your education? The only reason you can read and add is that you stole my tax dollars and used them to pay someone to teach you. What benefit do I get from it? none.
Down with public universities and public school
-Conservative in Appleton
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 5:11pm):
I think Taylor is kind of hot. rarrrrrr!
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 5:18pm):
"Why are my tax dollars giving you students a free ride by subsidizing your education?"
I agree. And let's get rid of government subsidized health care, too. Why should we pay for poor people to get medical treatment? If they need drugs or doctors so badly, let them get better jobs and make enough money to afford it themselves.
And why should we pay for police and fire coverage in poor areas? We could cut everyone's taxes if those of us who are productive members of society didn't have to subsidize poilce and fire protection for people living in poor neighborhoods.
And what about roads? Those poor people don't do anything productive with them, so why should we pay for paved roads in poor areas?
And since our taxes pay the salaries of everyone working in the justice system and poor people don't pay their fair share, we should have always summary judgment in favor of the wealthier party in civil cases, and summarily execute all poor people who come into court on criminal charges.
And why should old people get so many services from the government? They're not the ones working so hard to keep the world running! Let's get rid of Medicare, Social Security, nursing homes, and anything else meant to service the elderly.
And what about crazy people? What do they do for society anyway? Let's just kill them all.
And what about poor children? Since we're taking away their schools, medical care, and all welfare programs, and their parents can't take care of them anyway, we should kill them too. And in the future, we should sterilize all poor people so they can't have anymore children.
Brilliant suggestions derived from the post of "Conservative in Appleton", who is clearly a graduate of either a Nazi private school or one of those godawful public schools s/he despises so much.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 7:19pm):
"bla, bla, bla
-Conservative in Appleton"
Please don't feed the obviously liberal troll.
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 9:25pm):
Where are the statistics about out-of-state students' income? This article is full of biases and lacks any kind of content. Try doing some research on your next article (if your editor allows you to ever write again).
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 9:26pm):
Where are the statistics about out-of-state students' income? This article is full of biases and lacks any kind of content. Try doing some research on your next article (if your editor allows you to ever write again).
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 10:44pm):
This was a very good article. Well thought out. Reasoned. Specific proposals.
Nice work, Taylor!!!
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 10:52pm):
"I think Taylor is kind of hot. rarrrrrr!"
I agree. Taylor, are you gay? If not, will you introduce me to your brother?
Anonymous (March 31, 2005 @ 11:09pm):
"The only non-resident students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin are those whose checkbooks are fat enough to afford it."
Or those willing to borrow $100,000 - like me for my son.
Anonymous (April 1, 2005 @ 11:10pm):
"The only non-resident students enrolled at the University of Wisconsin are those whose checkbooks are fat enough to afford it."
So why should you care? They're subsidizing your education!
