(no subject)

Jun 10, 2010 22:50

Dear Pawlenty (the supposed governor of my fair state):

This is how higher education works.

We have two kinds of colleges, private and public. Public colleges cost less because they are subsidized by the government. (Private ones are too, but let's skip that part for now.) Private colleges cost more (up to four times as much) but because they are supported by (supposedly) wealthy alumni and because they admit rich kids who can apparently afford the entire price of tuition, they give out more in scholarships. So technically, it's supposed to cost about the same to go to either. That's how I went to a private school for undergrad, despite the fact that, oh right, I qualified for Pell grants. (Those are for people below a certain income level, if you don't happen to be a US citizen or a college attendee.)

Also, there are these things called 'community colleges.' They fill a needed gap and are highly subsidized by the government. They provide education to people who can't afford to buy a fucking iPod.

Please to have learned this before you go on the fucking Daily Show and suggest that perhaps we should not subsidize any sort of schooling and just give money to people and allow them to buy iCollege on their iPods.

Now, I will give someone--not you, because you never suggested it because you're a classist dipshit--the fact that, yes, college costs too damn much, but you're suggesting, oh, GETTING RID OF ALL SUBSIDIES TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T BELONG IN THE BUSINESS OF HIGHER EDUCATION (according to you), WHICH, BY THE WAY, WOULD GET RID OF THE CHEAPEST OF THE FOUR LAW SCHOOLS IN THIS STATE (or, well, it would make it the most expensive of the four law schools in this state).

Also, your fictional U of M(N) student who drives in a half hour from the suburbs to listen to a lecture on Econ 101? CLASSIST DIPSHIT. The University of Minnesota is a fucking PUBLIC SCHOOL. (Yes, all right, it's still a R1 institution and has its share of Edina kids [for Toledoans, the analogue would be Perrysburg kids; for Cleveland, think Beachwood] but it also has, you know, Jenny Cavalieris. [Which, if you haven't seen Love Story, means 'smart but poor.')

Also all the satellite campuses of the University of Minnesota.

Look, I'm not sure that public universities are the be-all and end-all of everything, but I do know that it costs about $10K a year to go to U of M(N) and $50K/year to go to Macalester (ish) and which of these do you think that someone living on Da Range (er, for Ohioans: 'in the sticks') can afford?! AND YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT AWAY SO THAT YOU PEOPLE CAN GET FICTIONAL EDUCATIONS FROM iCOLLEGE? BULLSHIT.

No fucking love, you horrible douchebag,

One of your constituents

P.S. I hate you more every day.

stephanie is an angry feminist, stephanie is just angry

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