Letter to the editor -- Part Two

I wrote my second LTE for The Boston Globe after noticing a piece discussing the merits of being a child of affluent parents if applying to private college -- especially during the economic recession.

This letter has a similar theme from the last one, but with an altered framework. Unlike the last letter I sent to the Hampshire Gazette, the article that prompted the Globe letter was influenced by the comments of readers that trailed after the post.

Reading through some of the drivel made me favor the commenting method of sites like Slashdot, which allow the community to rate the best ones up and push the poor ones down.

Anyway, here it is:

The American Dream sure is seeing a revision. Instead of opening her arms to the tired and the poor, she'll just be sure to check your credit rating before opening the gate.

Peter Schworm's piece in Tuesday's Globe (“Economy lifting college prospects of the well heeled”) makes one thing certain – if students from affluent families are more likely to be admitted into private schools than those requiring financial aid, we can be assured that our public schools will see an even greater increase in applications in the coming years as they are turned away from these institutions.

Investment in public higher education is vital during difficult economic times. State community colleges and four year schools are in dire straights. By the end of last year, dramatic increases in applications at state schools (see Boston Globe “Applications soar at public colleges,” Dec. 23, 2008) were already present. We have a choice: we can prioritize education for the next generation of American workers or we can leave education only to the wealthy.

Letter to the editor -- Part One

Photo courtesy of bill dwyer via Flickr and Creative Commons

I sent this in to the Daily Hampshire Gazette this evening in response to an article in Monday's paper regarding a 129% increase in applications at Holyoke Community College. I suppose now we will just wait and see...

As an alumnae of Holyoke Community College who is about to graduate from Smith College in May, I am heartened by the increase in applications reported by Kristin Palpini in Monday's Gazette (“HCC hit by wave of college hopefuls”). I enrolled at HCC merely because it was affordable, but was inspired with the quality of education I received. Programs such as the Learning Communities, which pair off traditionally separated academic disciplines (such as math and literature), presented challenging coursework. All were taught by a dedicated faculty who are tirelessly committed to the mission of education despite being under constant threat of budgetary cutbacks.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reflects President Obama's campaign promises to both invest in education and long-term economic growth. According to the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts (PHENOM) this includes a possible $813 million for education funding in this state. At least $142 million of this will be allocated to public higher education. PHENOM also sees potential for piloting free tuition at three of the state's community colleges through federal budgetary relief for Medicaid.

The 129% increase in applications at HCC is a tremendous opportunity. Education is one of our best investments in difficult economic times. I hope our legislators work with the strong network of Massachusetts residents and organizations to ensure that every single person who wants to enroll in college is able to access the quality education our state schools must provide.