With all the talk about California possibly being divided into six states, one starts to wonder how this will affect us students? Most of the students that I know attend junior colleges. Many will transfer to a four year school somewhere in the state after they get their two-year degree.
If California divides into six states that would mean out-of-state tuition could become a huge problem for us. A study done by Becca Benham of The Daily Californian showed that if California divided into six states, 66 percent of the students at University of California, Berkeley would have to pay out-of-state tuition. So imagine that number at every University of California and California State University.
Tim Draper, a wealthy business man from the Silicon Valley, came up with the plan to divide the state. Draper was quoted in the USA Today saying, “Vast parts of our state are poorly served by a representative government dominated by a large number of elected representatives from a small part of our state, both geographically and economically.”
It would be insane to split California into six different states because each region of California needs each other. All of southern California gets their water from what we would change to Jefferson and North California. Most food for the state also comes from what would become North California and Central California.
Additionally, we would have to restructure the entire California school system. Private schools would retain the same tuition because they are not funded by the state, but the CSU and UC systems would have requirement and tuition changes.
“If for any reason there was a of breakup of California, we would see some to do with reciprocal agreements across state lines (to avoid out-of-state tuition),” said American River College interim President Pam Walker. “College administrators in those new states would have to readjust their plans for higher ed. If you wanted to go to UCLA and you lived in one of those different states, there would have to be rules in place so that you could still apply to this out-of-state opportunity.”
American River College student Tarrence Davis, undecided major, is looking to stay in California when he transfers to a four-year university.
“I work part time to pay my way through school and I plan to transfer to UC Berkeley when I am eligible,” Davis said. “I don’t think out of state tuition is fair at all. Schooling already cost a lot of money as it is. Most people can’t afford to pay for in state tuition so paying for a different price for out-of-state is just ridiculous.”
California should not split into six states from an academic point of view. It would not benefit anybody trying to work towards a degree.
