Meanwhile, Back in the Happy Valley

Student leaders at UMass-Amherst are meeting today to determine whether or not they'll call for a 2 day walk-out set to begin on Thursday. What's their beef? Exorbitant fees and Gestapo-like dorm patrols by the Massachusetts State Police. I would normally laugh off this type of behavior as typical Happy Valley tomfoolery but this time I think these kids actually have a point.

Not too long ago I was sleeping til noon and enjoying three day weekends at our flagship state university. Unlike Governor Patrick I didn't have the pleasure of getting a fancy Harvard education, but I still have the ability to do basic arithmetic. For example, if you go on TV (yes, I'm talking about you, Mr. Romney) and announce to a cheering audience that you're cutting tuition at State U only to raise mandatory fees then students actually pay MORE, not LESS for their education.

Students that joined the Guard or won an Adams scholarship hoping for a free ride will be relieved to know that their $857/semester (in-state) is covered thanks to Uncle Sam. However, they're still on the hook for over $4,000/semester in mandatory fees in addition to room and board. The state is keeping tuition artificially low to force students to take out large loans to cover fees that aren't included in their tuition-only scholarships. The students are getting a bad deal and they know it.

While I'm not sure that staging a walk-out will have any lasting results, I do applaud them for trying. Personally I would've moved the strike to Mon-Tue in light of the upcoming holiday but then again I was never much of an activist. As far as the police presence in the dorms are concerned, don't bother trouble and trouble won't bother you (in other words, if you're going to get shitfaced off cheap vodka, do so quietly and behind closed doors). Pahkcah02 is with you on this one, UMass.