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Show Tuesday, November 7, 6 - The Dally Utah Chronicle Our Tuition Woes Cannot Be Solved By Regents Alone GCWSENrOir 1995 eess lurp VSmxX. FMttONL WILL rcJOREcqa' TOTIKS v WILL Co CtovCJ r fter an oppressive 19 yean of constant tuition hikes, the Utah State Board of Regents, responding to the Utah AfiADivision of Higher Education's budget proposal, finally voted to freeze tuition for one year. The 14-- vote reaffirms the Regents commitment to affordable education in Utah. It docs not, however, represent a stable solution to the largest financial problems facing students today, because it doesn't deal with the long-terproblems of disproportionate tuition inflation and inadequate wages. For several years, tuition in Utah has been rising at twice the rate of inflation. This means while most of the economy registers a yearly increase in the cost of goods and services, Utah collegiate tuition 0 L shows double that increase. Wait, say that one more time, Utah collegiate tuition shows double that increase. There is no acceptable reason why Utah in general should see a normal inflationary rise year to year while tuition, magically, seems to inflate twice as fast This must be an oversight by those involved in higher education appropriations, because tuition increases should conform to normal inflation rates. The inflation problem at Utah colleges and universities is paired with the problem of minimum wage and standard of living. Overall, Utah is a relatively cheap state to live in. Rent, property values, groceries and other key factors for cost of living are substantially lower than the rest of the nation. But, with tuition increases level, the pushing state college costs to a nationally-comparabl- e all bases does more. the cover not any average wage so they can conAlso, many college students only work part-tim- e centrate on their studies. This only serves to worsen the problem. Utah's common starting wages, usually around $4.50 to $5.50 an hour, multiplied by 30 hours a week comes out to around $600 per month. The University of Utah financial aid estimates figure that it costs $12,000 per year to attend the U. Something doesn't add up here. The Daily Utah Chronicle feels that the State of Utah, which ultimately bears responsibility for its public universities, should reassess its commitment to providing education. Ultimately, it is the state that has to fill in the gaps between students' ability to attend college and the real cost of schooling. The federal government has cut back on its higher education funding, following the logic that individual states can care for their own universities. Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt and the State Legislature need to follow up on the assumptions of the national legislature by providing assistance where the federal government used to. Further, they need to s fund Utah's higher education system adequately enough that education. have access to the Daily Utah Chronicle is an independent student newspaper. Unsigned columns reflect the majority view of the Editorial Nature Inspires in Ways Development Can't Editor: Thank you Eric Gustavson for your morally decrepit, and muddled editorial in The Daily Utah Chronicle on Monday, Oct. 6. It is precisely such worthless reasoning and selfish perspective that shake the complacent from their dogmatic slumbers. Thanks again for waking me up. You claim that the brigade" has some romantic notion that undisturbed land is inherently "ethereal." Perhaps you mean inherendy "aesthetic", for as you appear not to know, ether is the substance the ancients claimed filled the space between the heavenly bodies. As an environmentalist, I can assure you I find nothing about the undisturbed land and light, airy or unmolested ecosystems of our planet. On the contrary, it is their uniqueness in this portion of space, their "earthiness", that is one of their defining characteristics. As to evoking the aesthetic emotion, there are, of course, many examples of "active interference with nature," which we regard as beautiful pottery, sculpture and painting, to slow-witte- d, "anti-expansio- non-earthl- citi-zen- n y - Board. name a few. I don't, however, get the same aesthetic sense from viewing an open pit mine or the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird. - sculpted cirque at the base of a Gazing at a glacier a sense evokes of aesthetic awe I find difficult peak rocky to describe. I do not feel the same for the fences, buildings, and "nature" trails of Red Butte Gardens. Your aesthetic sense needs some cultivation, dear boy, and watching more television or surfing the Net won't do it. As to your claim that "it is impossible to draw a distinction between what land is acceptable for use and what land should be left alone", I agree that one person, equipped with minimally developed faculties of reason, cannot make such judgments. On the other hand,-Eric- , if you were to such over the more determinations to turn specialized knowledge of biologists, geographers and philosophers, you would see such judgments can indeed be made, and for good reason. see "Develop" on page 8 human-sculpte- d Congress Can and Should Legislate Nation's Morals C Y ..mil, John Frandsen Chronicle Editorial SL L Columnist about There arc Otlegislating morality. who erupt into a virtual frenzy at the thought. "Who are you to tell me what I am allowed to do and not do?" they shout: Others shrewdly argue making laws that govern people's behavior doesn't work. "People do what they want to do," they say. These fashionable arguments are wrong. Legislating morality is the only way to form a more perfect union, insure domestic tranquillity, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. One probably can't do much about promoting for the common defense without it either. is time we got serious Think about this rationally: Every piece of legislation to halls emerge from the of Congress is completely tangled with concepts of morality. Let's begin with some of the most obvious laws. Why is it a half-hearte- d crime to kill another person? Steal? Cheat on your income taxes? It's simple. As a nation, we have collectively deemed that these behaviors are unacceptable. Isn't that legislating morality ? I can imagine, in this age of little contemplation, some miscreant beating his wife to death and pleading before the vate business. Some people still feel this law isn't congruent behavior when it doesn't have any affect on another person." Keep the government out of my business as long as I stay out of someone else's business. The problem with this thinking, is that it is unclear where and when a person's behavior affects another person. Scat belt and helmet laws are a fine example. "If I foolishly ride my motorcycle without a helmet, it's my own problem. with their own moral code. But it is still against the law for them as it should be. What about polluting? As a society, we have decided that fouling the environment can be unlawful. This law is based on a moral principle. Of course there are a lot of people out there who don't sub- - "It doesn't take much contemplation to realize that all of our actions have impact, either directly or indirectly, on someone else. It is naive to think otherwise" courts: "You can't sentence me under your law, because to me, killing my wife isn't part of my moral code. Who mmmmmmmmmmm are you to tell me what is scribe to this moral principle, but morally correct and incorrect? But our list of moral legislation the law still applies. And it should. can be expanded. "But these laws only serve to It is a crime to discriminate protect the rights of people from against a particular person being trampled on by other peo- ...:u ur because of their race even if the piv, ill a 11 7 ttiii uaj. "fc at v discrimination takes place in a pri-- 'against laws that dictate moral -- - .., . , I'm not smashing someone else's head into the pave- ment," they say. Remember that logic next time you receive your insurance billing. Insurance rates ' inevitably reflect the stupidity of people who brazenly ride their motor bikes with--- " out a helmet, or drive their cars without a seat belt. They become a vegetable and you pick up the tab. This is the same philosophy behind laws that regulate or pro-t- . .... w,uu Lt iuu uiuj uo- - uiu galiiuiuig. It is fact these activities affect 1 not only the immediate participants, but also innocent and distant societal bystanders. The Netherlands has experimented with legalizing all forms of drugs. All involved in that country have come to the same conclu- sion: The communities where drugs were legalized have become bastions of depravity. The experiments have been stopped, and drugs are again banned. It simply didn't work. The drug crowd these argued experiments gave a skewed representation of the effects of legalized drugs. Because there were only a few concentrated locations where drugs were legal, it attracted an artificially high concentration of users, they pro-legalize- d ' say. ': ,' ;' . be true, it still only bolsters the case against legalized drugs. If drug use is sole--l- v While this may an individual thing and has litno effect on the greater community, it shouldn't matter what tle or set "Morality on pa. S |