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 Tell Daddy Not to Sell the Farm
by Tom Campbell
February 1, 2007
I am not opposed to allowing students from other states to attend our state-supported universities; in fact I think it enriches the experience for all. I do, however, grow weary listening to them complain about tuition rates being charged. The recent protests of a half-dozen male students wrapped only in towels at the UNC Trustee meeting raises serious question about the wisdom of admitting them to begin with. Their threats, written on posters, that “daddy will have to sell the farm” are supposed to evoke what sentiments in us?
Kiplinger says that UNC Chapel Hill is the best bargain in public higher education in the nation – for the sixth year in a row. We are told that UNC Chapel Hill charges tuition that is ,800 lower for in-state and ,000 lower for out-of-state students than a group of ten similar public universities. The proposed ,250 increase in out-of-state tuition is understandably big, but not nearly as great as most universities are raising rates. And let us not fail to remind these students that state taxpayers are still paying more in costs per student than tuition being charged for either in-state or out-of-state students. For in-state students the differentiation is more than ,000 per student.
There is a reason why students from other states are so eager to attend our state-supported universities. To be sure the education is outstanding, the weather is great and, without boasting, we all know that Carolina girls (those in the state, not just the institution) are the best in the world. Why, we wonder, aren’t these protestors enrolled in universities in their own state of residence? The plain and simple truth is higher education in this state is a bargain, even with the proposed increase.
There has been a cap of 18 percent put on the numbers of out-of-state students allowed in our public universities, especially the flagships in Chapel Hill and Raleigh. But that is a cap; there is no minimum level. North Carolina state-supported universities were founded and remain tax supported primarily to educate our own. Around this time each year hundreds of parents, who have called North Carolina home much, if not all, of their lives, complain that their daughter or son hasn’t been accepted in one of our state-supported universities. Many end up enrolling their children in private colleges where tuition is considerably higher than what out-of-state students are being charged at our state-supported schools. They question why they pay taxes to support a university system that won’t accept their children and still have to pay steep tuition.
So here’s a message to those whiny, towel-clad, out-of-state students: You are here because of the good graces of the residents of North Carolina. You are paying less than your education is costing these taxpayers. And you are taking a slot hundreds of born-and-bred North Carolina students would love to fill. So if you feel unfairly abused by the tuition being charged you, we will understand perfectly if you decide to drop out and go elsewhere to get your education. Need we wrap ourselves in a towel and write this message on a poster?
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