Frozen College Futures

KATHERINE ONG
Staff Writer

The words “frozen,” “enrollment” and “2013” send a chill up my spine. They have likewise struck fear in the hearts of 2013 graduates like myself. Who could blame us? The plan to freeze California State University’s (CSU) enrollment for the 2013 spring semester due to budget cuts could potentially ruin our chances of going to college.
The CSU system is a major contributor to California’s education system. It takes pride in being the “largest, most diverse and affordable” university system in the country. Somewhat true to their claim, they are the largest public university in the state of California and the cost per semester at a CSU is almost half the cost of a UC school. They have also been known to be less strict on acceptance requirements: their SAT requirement is lower and a GPA of at least a 3.0 is well qualified for admission while anything above a 2.0 is negotiable. These qualities attract thousands of college-hopefuls to CSU campuses, giving them the deserved chance to further their education. However, starting spring semester 2013, CSU officials plan to freeze enrollment on most of their campuses and waitlist the following fall semester’s applicants in an attempt to reduce enrollment due to crippling budget cuts. This news may very well have crushed the dreams of those thousands of hopefuls, especially the unprepared class of 2013.
Losing the chance to attend these colleges is a big deal to many Californian high school graduates. Being one of the most highly populated states, California needs all the colleges it can support, but with current budget cuts, fewer and fewer students have been able to score a rare seat in what limited classes there are. With CSU’s decision to freeze enrollment, there are likely to be even fewer opportunities for high school graduates. Though it seems like an alternative would be to go to an out-of-state college, out-of-state fees are heavy and attending a college in another state is a weighty decision for students who’d prefer to attend a college at home.
In a sense, this situation was highly predictable. Cuts to California’s public education funding have been getting deeper and deeper. However, the predicament is not entirely hopeless; CSU awaits the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the November ballot. The outrage of thousands of students being denied access to the largest public university system in California is likely to pressure voters into passing the tax proposal. The outcome of the proposal will determine whether the public education system will receive a $200 million cut, which would subsequently lead to the freezing of the spring 2013 CSU enrollment.
Despite the predictability of the situation, it is unfair to target public education. It has become increasingly difficult for the future leaders and makers of America to further their education in order to prepare for their chance to contribute their great potential to society due to lack of funding for schools.
Although the state is in a deficit right now and needs to reduce government spending, the public education system should be the last to be cut. In fact, it should be the last viable option even considered to withhold funding from; yet currently, the education system’s budget is commonly the first target of any tax proposal. The creators of the deficit should be responsible for bringing America out of the ditch it is in; but as of right now, their children are the ones bearing the burdens.