We might not realize it, but those of us paying in-state tuition (or something near that) have a pretty sweet deal. Our university education is actually worth a lot more than we pay. In fact, over the whole University of Wisconsin System, the budget is north of $25,000 per student per year. Of that, residents pay only about $7,500 and non-residents around $22,000 in yearly tuition at UW-Madison campus.

Some sort of benevolent force — or really talented accountant — had to make this bargain possible. In fact, it turns out that it’s neither Billy Mays nor Chef Tony who are crazy enough to extend to us such a great offer — it’s the people of Wisconsin.

The logic goes that in order to offset the large cost of a university education, the citizens of Wisconsin (along with the federal government and private donors) pool their money to make college a little more affordable for their citizens. Residents of Wisconsin pay into the system since they (or at least their parents) pay taxes here. In return, those residents get a heavily discounted tuition rate. Should people from outside that revenue base want to attend a Wisconsin university, they are free to do so but are not entitled to an equally discounted rate. Since they (or their parents) have not contributed to the state’s tax base, they are not entitled to reap its benefits.

There is one problem. There are many who live, work and go to school in Wisconsin who are not technically residents. In fact, they are not technically even citizens of the United States. And if you’re not a citizen then you can’t be a resident — right?

Gov. Jim Doyle doesn’t think that sounds fair, so he has included a measure to grant “tuition remission for a person who is a citizen of another country” in his budget, provided this person meets three conditions. First, they must have graduated from a Wisconsin high school or received their equivalency in the state. Second, they must have lived in the state for three straight years. And third, they must swear they will take action to become a citizen.

Setting all arguments regarding illegal immigration aside, the fact remains, by definition, illegal/undocumented workers do not pay state or federal income tax — save for the precious few that care deeply about the 16th Amendment — and therefore do not contribute into the treasuries that are used to fund the majority of an in-state education at a Wisconsin university.

However, most glaring is the discrepancy this measure would introduce between those from out of state it covers and those it does not. If a path toward in-state tuition was made available to a select few, the thousands of out of state students who attend universities across the state would be getting screwed. In order for a U.S. citizen not from Wisconsin or Minnesota to earn in-state tuition, they must live and work in Wisconsin for a year without taking classes.

The rules regarding FIBs, coasties, et al. falls in line with the reasoning behind in state tuition in the first place — those who contribute the most should get the biggest discounts.

Doyle should pursue a policy similar to this in regard to illegal immigrant tuition. By including a clause requiring some form of service to the state, the governor could transform this measure from a partisan hack piece to a viable component in a greater move towards immigration reform. While it may not be viable to expect every 18-year-old illegal immigrant to find a job, it would not be off-base to require a year of volunteer work, or a commitment to service work during the summer months.

There are few who would argue that making education more accessible is fundamentally bad, but doing it in a decided sloppily fashion certainly can be.

Joe Labuz ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in biomedical engineering