Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger once referred to 2008 as a "year of education." Yet, we begin to wonder now, as 2008 comes to a screeching halt, exactly what type of education he was referring to. Was it the type that left the average college student more than $21,000 in debt on graduation day? The type that is available only to those who carried a 3.0-plus grade-point average while continuing involvement in extracurricular activities? Or maybe our governor has grown so accustomed to the clichéd happy endings found in his movies, he actually thought 2008 was going to be the year access to education increased despite the economy’s continuous decline.
It is not clear even now what adjectives our governor meant to place before this phrase. Yet with the recent California State University budget cuts, we as students are easily able to insert our own descriptive words. Like local news stations and newspaper articles that have recently covered the drastic cuts, we agree education has become increasingly more expensive, difficult to reach and increasingly stressful for students of every race, religion, and social class. Yet we cannot let these negative descriptions overshadow the positives that continue to exist in the world of education.
It is true, despite an increase in admission fees and a decrease in admission rates, the higher level of education offered by the state of California remains beneficial, life¬-changing, and even priceless to those who use their knowledge to better the world as a whole by first impacting the communities they live in. Based on these positive attributes, is it fair to conclude that maintaining the high quality of education, even though decreasing the number of those being educated, is more beneficial than educating the masses at a lower standard.
Yet as we continue in search of a life better than that of our parents, a college diploma continues to grow further out of reach. Coming from a school that doesn’t have the wealthiest population of students, we understand, probably more than most, the importance of broadening our minds and separating ourselves from the constant struggle that plagues the lower class. Although this task is becoming more strenuous because of circumstances out of our control, the end result remains far from impossible. The only difference between now and before is a need to become even more resilient, disciplined, and perseverant. Like all students of California, our student body needs to realize that just because the economy is failing, we do not have to follow suit.