Political debate needs reason, not hostility

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The old adage “you can’t get something for
nothing” is true about a college education, too. In
California, state residents receive their lower tuition because
they paid taxes. For out-of-state students who have contributed
“nothing” to the state, their “something,”
tuition, necessarily comes at a higher cost.

But UC Hastings Law School student Joshua Markowitz thinks
out-of-state tuition is unconstitutional. He claims that because he
will pay taxes during his time as a student and future resident in
California, he should not be charged the out-of-state rate. But,
Markowitz and other out-of-staters are already getting a deal.
Consider the life-long California resident who has either
personally paid or whose parents have paid taxes over a lifetime.
Because California residents have already paid a large portion of
their tuition in taxes, the state subsidizes the residents’
cost of attendance. When a new resident like Markowitz comes to the
state, he has to make up the difference. Otherwise the state loses
money ““ which ultimately affects its ability to maintain the
quality of its universities.

Subsidizing tuition for out-of-state students would be
incredibly irresponsible. The university does have a responsibility
to attract both out-of-state and international students with low
fees, but even with the higher costs of out-of-state tuition a
public university is still a great deal. And as the law stands now,
out-of-staters have an opportunity to contribute to California and
gain residency after a period of three years. Markowitz had better
stop complaining and start putting his pennies in a jar, because he
has a responsibility to pay just as much as the rest of us ““
and a long way to go before he can match what we’ve already
given.