Hunger Strikes against Tuition Hikes

Lance Burri writes about the hunger strike some UW-Madison students are holding this week to protest Gov. Doyle's proposed tuition increase -- and I sympathize with the students. A 37.5% increase in tuition seems remarkably high, and Doyle proposes increasing it 5 to 7% over the next two years.

However, as Lance points out, when they start talking about college education as a "right," they seem to have gone off-message a bit.

If a college education is a right, not a privilege, aren’t we morally obligated to make sure everybody can get in?

Just think of it. Free college education. The students will all benefit individually, and our community will benefit, too.

Of course, there’s one more major difference between K-12 and college education: the former is mandatory. It’s the law: all children aged 5 through 17 must attend school, whether it’s public, private, or home.

It has to be that way, you understand, because otherwise some parents would pull their kids out after the 10th, or 8th, or 6th grades. That drags society down.

By the same token, some people won’t want to attend higher education, regardless of the benefits to humanity. So perhaps, in addition to making college free, we should make it mandatory. It’s for the good of society, and for your own good, too.

Whole thing here.