Partisan stunt comes as no surprise
They almost did it.
Some of the people on our University of Colorado Student Union almost pulled a complete partisan stunt to endorse Democrat Bill Ritter to be Colorado’s next governor. Some members had written a bill that, if passed, would have given UCSU’s stamp of approval to Ritter’s campaign. Thankfully, reason descended upon them and led to a change in wording.
Of course, that’s like saying a kid “almost” wrecked his car after driving 110 miles per hour on the highway with a BAC of .25.
And the change in wording, which instead asks all gubernatorial candidates to support state funding of higher education, is akin to using the word “idiot” instead of “fool.”
I suppose I should just expect it from CU these days. But there’s always a glimmer of hope in my eye, like the small child gazing out his window on Christmas Eve.
“Maybe I’ll see Santa Claus,” he thinks.
“Maybe I won’t have an agenda shoved down my throat,” I think to myself while spitting on the tax code in front of Ward Churchill’s office.
It’s thinly-veiled partisan politics, by the looks of it. The push to maintain the current levels of funding would mean either raising taxes or taking money away from perhaps more necessary services – just make sure we pay for as little of our own education as is humanly possible!
Plus, telling people what they should vote for doesn’t seem to be the proper duty of UCSU. Convincing students to voice an opinion – any opinion — on Nov. 2? Yeah, that’s a noble cause. It’s one I’ll support.
But using legislation to pressure students to favor state-funded higher education? No thanks.
And aside from the dereliction of duty, state-funded higher education is not the best thing since sliced bread, contrary to what you might believe. Do you want any of the cronies at the capital having any sort of leverage over your education?
I don’t. And that’s something I’m willing to shell out an extra several thousand dollars a year for, even if that means I spend the rest of my life paying it off.
I fully admit I’m just as guilty of playing the political game (fiscal libertarian politics, to be precise). But this is the op-ed page, not a piece of student government legislation. And I’m a journalist, not an elected official of said government. I am perhaps a soon-to-be deceased journalist, depending on how incendiary some find my comments. But a journalist nonetheless.
Food for thought: If you never paid taxes, how many times over could you pay for your degree? We could all drive BMWs – not just the trustafarians.
