All my life up until college I attended private, Catholic schools. And subsequently, relatively similar students have surrounded me all my academic life — students from affluent families with similar beliefs and of similar ethnicity. This is not to say I do not appreciate the life lessons and values a religious education has to offer, but the system certainly has drawbacks. Growing up, the majority of people around me considered themselves good Catholic citizens, believed abortion, homosexuality and contraception are serious sins and, of course, preferred that sweet and sour mix of Bud Light and twangy, unnecessarily nationalistic country music.
The point is no serious internal development can occur within a never-changing and numbingly homogeneous social setting. I have found more challenge and meaning in disagreements and progressive conflict than in comforting agreement. I fear that raising out-of-state tuition at the University of Wisconsin will allow for the construction of an insular environment through its preference for a specific sect of students.
Look at any of the most reputable university rankings, and you will see an obvious correlation between some of the most prestigious schools in the country and high percentages of out-of-state and international students. Among these are Princeton and Harvard, each admitting classes with almost 85 percent of students from a different state or country. The same goes for Yale (93 percent out-of-state), Stanford (54 percent out-of-state), The University of Chicago (81 percent out-of-state) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (91 percent out-of-state). For all of these universities, the costs are identical for out-of-state and in-state students. In another light, a countless number of reputable public schools across the country are beginning to charge out-of-state students significantly more in tuition with little to no results. Among these are the University of California at Irvine, The University of Florida, The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Washington. In most recent rankings, all of the named schools have fallen behind UW.
Diversity allows for the intermingling of students of drastically different backgrounds, ideas and beliefs, molding a central theme of dynamic thought processes and modern problem solving skills. Mixed with a more realistic view of the world in light of the broad and ever changing social spectrum, this breeds a necessary and a fundamentally revolutionary capacity for profound change.
To myself and many others fronting the out-of-state bill this year, the claim that we have somehow stolen the spot of a Wisconsin resident at this university seems all too ridiculous at a school which fosters ideas of widespread community. As of now, the federal government heavily subsidizes public education. In this way, every citizen, whether in state or not, contributes through taxation to the function of this great university, and by no means swipes the desk of a Wisconsin resident through their admittance.
Here at UW, the reality is that out-of-state tuition does indeed subsidize funding for in-state students, and serves to foot the bill for numerous university expenditures. This is troubling in light of recent calls for the construction and renovation of current buildings here on campus. By calling for a raise in out-of-state tuition, UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank provides a troubling hint at the deficiency of a purely profit-driven mindset, especially within an academic setting. By continually comparing UW to other schools that charge out-of-state students significantly higher rates, we are becoming lost in a never-ending and self-destructing cycle of comparison.
Universities cannot be measured by how many new, tall and shiny buildings they have on campus, but rather, by their fundamental dedication to quality education and the forging of well-rounded individuals. The diversity of students within any university influences its strengths, productivity and intellectual personality. Diversity of experience, age, physical ability, religion, race, ethnicity, gender and many other attributes contributes to the richness of any environment. This wide spectrum of discipline, intellectual outlook, cognitive style and personality offers students the breadth of ideas that constitute a dynamic intellectual community.
In attending UW, I have found an absolutely refreshing sense of understanding through the appreciation of commonly present and drastically contrasting political and moral outlooks as well as ethnic and religious backgrounds. This world class university and its staff have more than impressed me. My hope is that this university recognizes the fragile financial state many families and students are experiencing in this economy and caters not only to the needs of its current and prospective students, but maintains an allegiance to a much deeper idea — the equal opportunity for educational and soulful enrichment.
Grant Hattenhauer ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in biology.
