Tuesday, 21 February 2017

First Opinion Piece - Tuition

The national average for student debt in 2010 was twenty-six thousand dollars. (Press, 2017) Free tuition in British Columbia would be good and affective because it allows for more qualified but under privilege individuals to get an education they deserve and to help better society.
Shai Reshef said in his TED Talk Vancouver, "Higher education stopped being a right for all instead became a privilege for the few," (Reshef, 2017) and with the inflammation rate bouncing up to 5 percent in 2012 (Ross, 2017) has made his statement increasingly true. With free tuition, more students would be able to not only be able to afford an education, but also not have to worry about other basic human rights that debt can hinder. This allows students to have an ease mind about paying off their other living essentials, keep up their health, allows for a better mental state, and be able to increase their savings to better their lives in the future.

By following some of Western European countries, British Columbia could raise their provincial taxes and invest it into the future of not only the province's but the future of our country, and our world. It would eliminate the feeling of a trapped society, to paraphrase Noam Chomsky, when people are trapped in debt they won't be able to afford to think of change. (Ross,2018) British Columbia should have free tuition because a qualified student should have access to an education if they pleased, no matter where they stand in the hierarchy of our civilization.

Affordability should not determine whether we get our basic human right or not.
The national average of student debt is twenty-six thousand dollars too high to allow progression

Press, A. S. (n.d.). As student debt climbs to an average past $25K, schools invest in battling the mental-health issues it causes. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/as-student-debt-climbs-to-an-average-past-25k-schools-invest-in-battling-the-mental-health-issues-it-causes


Reshef, S. (n.d.). An ultra-low-cost college degree. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/shai_reshef_a_tuition_free_college_degree


 Ross, W. (n.d.). Working toward tuition free post-secondary education in BC and Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2017, from https://blogs.ubc.ca/ices/2013/04/25/working-toward-tuition-free-post-secondary-education-in-bc-and-canada/

4 comments:

  1. I like what you are trying to say here! Indeed people today are feeling really trapped and limited as to what they are able to achieve! I think the actual structure of your post could use some revision. Good opinions though! :)

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  2. Great way to start the piece; a very relevant and effective quote to use, instantly draws in the reader. I also like that you went straight into your argument "Free tuition would be good because.."
    Powerful points and nice use of quotations.
    Nice angle you took with the mental health side of things; very overlooked yet truly important.

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  3. I really like that line near the end, "Affordability should not determine whether we get our basic human right or not." I thought it was a powerful way to end the piece. You brought strong ideas and statistics to your argument which helped get your point across.

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  4. Good point on students needing a little bit of ease in their life. I like the Quote you used. Student debt holding us back from real change was a point I also brought up in my post. How are we supposed to make a better world for others if we are always worried about our financial troubles.

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