Will I be a Phoenix???

With the state’s budget woes sinking further, would something like selling off the CSU system to a private education provider be that farfetched?


William Tierney’s idea that the state sell off the CSU system for billions of dollars, may seem like a good one on the outside. But is it really?


It would save the state money to look into having someone else take the CSU’s off of its hands.

Tierney probably does not mean for people to take the University of Phoenix as the one end all option here. It’s an idea, an idea that has gotten a lot of glances. It’s interesting to scroll through the comments that have been left on Tierney’s seemingly out there piece. Some have pointed out the fact that he works for a for-profit university, which would seemingly be in his best interest to push something like a private institution taking over the education system.

For a long time the private education system has been seen to be far superior to the public one as well as far more expensive.

There has to be a better way to get small classes, excellent teachers, and work-force ready students without breaking the bank.

Maybe the answer lies in the professors, or maybe in the drive of the students, or maybe, just maybe it goes back even further than that into high school and grammar school.


When was it that the public school system first started failing us?

I would argue day one.

There are many dedicated teachers in within the public school system but they can only do so much against the people who hold the money. I sometimes wonder if the teachers give up and just become complacent. Meanwhile forgetting all the things they wanted to see happen, and year after year turn out mediocre students that will scramble their way up through the rest of the public schools and onward into college.

To be fair, I spent most of my school years in the private sector of education. After seeing how education had gone, my parents decided that they would rather me go into a private school from the beginning, saying that they wished they had kept my sister in a private school instead of sending her to a public one. They always believed that she would have excelled further and done better if they been able to put her through a private school like mine.

I will also admit that I was a tremendous fan of my K-8 experience and when I got into high school I was able to go into all the AP courses at the public high school. The only regret I have is letting them talk me into taking a lower Spanish course then I should have. I should have stood up and said, “No I am going to take Spanish 2, because I know I can do it. I know I can handle it.”

But no. I let administration, the teachers, and my parents tell me that, maybe it was better that I start in at Spanish 1. It would be a great refresher course, and then I would be all set for Spanish 2 the next year.

It was a miserable experience.

I was bored out of my mind. With a huge class size, my teacher didn’t see that I was bored and was able to do so much better. He failed as a teacher, my parents failed to believe in me, worst of all, I failed to stand up for myself.

Teachers get so used to dealing with mediocre students that nothing fazes them and onyl being able to do so much because of the all to commonly blamed "budget problems."

Students should learn to stand up for themselves and demand more from their education system.

Demand that they be taught so that they will be prepared for the workforce. Take pride in their education.

Something needs to light a fire under students so they see that something, something needs to be done with the CSU system, before there is just a moneyless skeleton of a half-way decent education system. Something to get them to take charge of their education, and future generation’s education.


Maybe Tierney’s column will do just that.

Rally Held to Protest Fee Increases

Wednesday, students, faculty, and members of the community all came together to protest the budget cuts and the fee increases that are being followed by teacher furlough’s in University classes.
The rally opened with a song written by David Bradfield, and revised by Peter Baird for the rally, called the Furlough Blues.
The song got everyone in the mood for listening to speakers from various parts of the campus and the community. Students, teachers and ASI leaders all spoke on their feelings about the budget cuts and the now teacher furloughs.
Many were very passionate about the cause and gave moving speeches that they crowd was very wrapped up in. Some in the crowd went on and on with the lead mantra of “when they say cut back, we say fight back.” Some were so enthused by the mantra that they kept going even after the speaker who started it was done. Some in the crowd even started into the mantra themselves, even without the speakers help.
One of the other mantra’s was a little troubling though, and many in the crowd were so wrapped up in the chanting that they most likely did not stop to think about the implications of what they were saying.
They started chanting, “Tax oil, not students.” While at face value this looks like a wonderful thing, until you actually stop and think about what you are saying. Three people in the crowd actually did stop and think about what the chant implied. Three, out of the 200 hundred or so that were in the audience. That is an awfully low number especially for a crowd in a higher education arena.
Let’s break down what is being said here, “tax oil, not students.” Sacramento State is known for being a commuter college. So that means that many of the students drive their cars into campus from 5, 10, 15, and up to 50 miles away, some maybe even farther. Now, what fuels those cars? Gas, which comes from oil refineries. Every student needs gas to fuel their cars. If you end up taxing oil, the tax will automatically pass itself down to the end consumer, in this case the students, not to mention the teachers, and everyone else who drives cars. It is a nice idea, but not a very productive one. You end up taxing the students no matter what.
One of the community members put it in the terms of taxing the oil tycoons that have exorbitant amounts of money do to success in the oil industry. He said that we should charge them for the oil they have taken out of the California soil. Nice thought, but the cost will still transfer to everyone who buys gas.
While the idea behind the rally was solid, the focus was on stopping the budget cuts.
A question that comes to mind is how we are going to stop the budget cuts. Here is a concept that was not introduced at the rally.
Sure they said they want to stop the cuts, but they do not want fees increased. Rally organizers handed out the numbers of the Chancellor, and of President Gonzalez so that students and teachers can complain to them about the fees and furloughs. Complaining only gets you so far though. Eventually you have to come up with alternative solutions.
How are we going to stop fee increases and budget cuts if the State is still spending money like they actually have it?