Gone missing in Indiana: An affordable public education

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100627/Opinion/6270466/1065

June 27. 2010 6:59AM

VIEWPOINT

By LESLEY H. WALKER

This spring, a student nearly broke my heart when she asked if a BA in a foreign language was worth it.

She spoke of her love of things Spanish, of how much she enjoyed reading novels and watching films from all over the Spanish-speaking world. But could she afford to finish her degree? As she contemplated enrolling in her third year, she was already $15,000 in debt. As a result, she was deadly serious and anxious.

I, of course, reassured her that it was "worth it," citing affirming statistics that those with four-year degrees always fare better financially. I reminded her that her education was about more than just economics, that it was also about intellectual and cultural enrichment — things that would stay with her forever. snip

In 1982, I paid roughly a third of what it cost to attend IU; the state picked up the rest of the tab.

Today, it's the opposite: The student and her family pay two-thirds of the costs, while the state only contributes one-third.

[newfie11]

1. In 1960 I paid $6.50 a credit hour in California.

Granted it was a Jr. College but you sure can't do that today. I graduated with no bills. I don't know what I would do today if graduating from high school. Kids today have my sympathy.

[LargeGreenSpider]

2. In Pittsburgh in the 1950s ...

you could work in the steel mill for the summer and earn enough money to pay for college the rest of the year. Now, the mills are gone, the jobs are gone with them, and the college costs are astronomical.

[msongs]

3. for spanish go a school in mexico for a few yrs- better than learning it in INdiana nt