Written by Kyle Criddle
Higher education is practically necessary to success in the 21st century due to a highly competitive global economy. With student debt averaging $25,000-$35,000 per student, Americans tend to believe they’re getting their money’s worth. If that were truly the case, then why does higher education in the United States lag behind other countries like those in the European Union? To many students and non-students, the answer is free education. I agree.
The government is desperate for an educated population that spurs an expanding, innovative economy. Yet the price of higher education prevents many students from achieving their collegiate and life dreams. Those who make the cut are expected to make tremendous sacrifices in terms of time and money. Finland, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Chile and others have found a way to make free education work, not only the student’s advantage, but to that of the nation as a whole. While this all sounds great, the question remains: Can it work in America?
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders believes it can and must work. As a proponent of free education, Sanders would bring a socialist-style educational platform to the U.S. He has proposed free tuition for all public colleges and universities, which would end the government’s rapacious system of profiteering from student loans while slashing interest rates, allowing students to refinance loans and raising our collective national intellect.
To pay for this $75-billion-a-year free college education plan, Sanders intends to tax Wall Street, which might be my favorite part of his proposal. An uninformed opposition claims such ideals are radical, un-American and sure to fail in the face of a Congress whose members are unwilling to sacrifice their personal agendas for better public education. As an undergrad, I understand firsthand how beneficial this plan would be to myself and my peers. With each new semester, I am faced with a deluge of time- and money-related dilemmas. Do I pick up extra shifts at work so I can buy groceries, or do I use the time to study and suffer through another week of Ramen noodles? In the richest nation of the history of the world, students should not be made to choose between their mental and physical well-being and the health of their GPA. With Bernie’s proposal, they wouldn’t have to.
Universal higher education would allow every citizen an equal opportunity to pursue a college career. The ball and chain of debt has prevented students from broadening their horizons for too long — free college tuition would remove myriad roadblocks currently preventing students from pursuing their ambitious and lofty goals.
The bottom line is that skyrocketing tuition rates and expenses prevent students from achieving their maximum potential while in college. This is the primary reason why our education lags behind our European counterparts, not because our universities themselves are inferior.
The time has come to take a stand on educational equality. We have all stood by while our educational system has crumbled and aged. Reformist leaders like Sanders have shown us the way. Students and professors alike, joined by millions of middle-class Americans who are ready for a better education system, have begun to “Feel the Bern.” Do you feel it?