by Nicole Maldonado | Staff Writer |
Turmoil is brewing in the world of college education. Tuition is spiking every year, classes are cut and a faculty strike looms.
I think teachers striking is the worst thing that could happen to the CSU system. We already pay increasingly higher prices for tuition and now we have to deal with teachers potentially going on a full-fledged strike.
Where are our tuition dollars flowing nowadays? To me, it’s right down the drain.
“It is pushing back something of value and importance to us, like graduation” said student Tony Soza in regards to a possible strike. Soza is supposed to graduate in the spring.
With important things like graduation at stake, it makes me question if the CFA really has students’ best interests in mind. Obviously without teachers in the classroom, we cannot progress with our education and get the most out of our snowballing tuition costs.
The CFA states on its web site that it “exists to provide an opportunity for everyone seeking higher education.” Well, I think all students that attend a CSU are attending for that very reason, and without teachers doing their jobs we definitely are not provided that opportunity.
They may have a reason to strike, but from students’ perspectives, it just harms us because it’s taking away from class time.
CSU teachers do not have the students’ best interest in mind if they spent Nov. 17 striking for the day at CSUs East-Bay and Dominguez Hills. If I were a student that attended either of those schools I would have been upset that class was cancelled because of this event.
I believe there are other ways to protest. I understand that protesting on the street is effective, however, the teachers should react in a way that benefits the students as well and not leave them behind in the classroom.
Another way of fighting back is to get the students involved so they feel that their best interests are really taken to heart by their instructors. However, we as students need to get more fired up about this issue and make our voice heard because if it wasn’t for our teachers, we definitely would not have the advantage of learning.
I don’t believe the CFA should be publicly demonstrating by walking out of class for not receiving their raises because the entire state is suffering worse with pay cuts and budget cuts. To me, not getting raises is nothing to cry about; something to take into the streets is actually getting a pay reduction or increase in tuition!
If anyone, students should be protesting about the new nine percent rise in tuition rather than the teachers complaining about not getting extra pay.
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