OCR Text |
Show SOUTHERN UTAH STATE COLLEGE, CEDAR CITY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 19S9 THE THUNDERBIRD PAGE 4 SET TUITION RATES TO BRING BENEFITS More than 2,200 years have passed since Aristotle wrote: All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth. As we look into the decade of the 1990s few would contend with the value of education to a burgeoning society. What has stirred a flurry of heated debate, however, is the price we are willing to pay to educate our youth. In a memorandum dated September 9, 1989, from William Rolfe Kerr, commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education to the State Board of Regents, Kerr called for board adoption of a 7 percent rate increase for four-yea- r colleges and a 3 percent increase for community colleges. Such tuition rate changes are not, as some naysayers might lead students and parents to believe, an underhanded ploy by the Regents to gouge, overcharge or swindle an unsuspecting public. Rather, what the policy will prove to be is a savings over a period of time to consumers of higher education and we feel it is a change whose time has come. Most states have already made the move toward establishing formal tuition policies so as to assist in the decision-makinprocess fee levels. and tuition By following their concerning appropriate example and adopting a benchmark approach, Utah will be more apt to set tuition in relation to external criterion, such as per capita personal income or the Consumer Price Index. The effect of this policy parameter, as we see it, would be such that excessive annual changes would be kept at a minimum for the student and resident tuition and fees would more reasonably represent the students share of instructional costs. Simply put, the students education dollar investment will be spared the uncertainties of a fluctuating national economy and the institution could maintain with a greater degree of assurance its role of educational integrity. The second aspect vital to the Board of Regents policy is the establishment of tuition levels in accordance to the type of institution. This logic is in keeping with the philosophy that the students should get what they pay for, that is, increases in tuition will be incremental upon the type of institution attended; cost of instruction at a community college is substantially less than that at a university, therefore, the tuition charge will be less. The Thunderbird believes that by implementing this carefully considered policy both the Utah System of Higher Education and the student wins. In the final analysis, the state will continue to maintain a high standard of instructional integrity at a reasonable cost and society will ultimately benefit a proposition guaranteed to make the most sardonic critic of reform see the light. g The Thunderbird VOLUME 84, NUMBER Editor Rachel Talbot Associate Editor Kathleen Midgley Assistant Editor Lynn Dennett Opinion Director James Spainhower Photo Editor Jeff Dower Copy Editor Greg Prince Arts &. Leisure Editor Lisa Keene Sports &. Outdoors Editor Brent Richey 1 Almanac Editor Megan Marshall Senior Staff Writers Heather Cox Jodi Reinard Photo Technician Jerry Whittemore Production Manager Donn Mason Ad Manager Michelle Jensen Ad Representative Jennifer Smart Faculty Adviser Larry Baker The Thunderbird is published each Monday and Thursday of the academic year by and for the student body of Southern Utah State College and is not affiliated in any wav with the College's department of communication. The views and opinions expressed in The Thunderbird are the opinions of the publication's individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institution, facultv, staff or student body in general. The unsigned editorial directly above is the opinion of The Thunderbird as a single entity. Letters to the editor must be tvped and include the name and phone number. Only the name will be punted. Names will not be withheld under any circumstances and the ed.tor reserves editing privileges. Letters must be submitted by noon Fridays for Monday editions; 5 p.m. Tuesdays for Thursday editions. The Thunderbird. editorial offices in 5U8C Library 10'; advertising in Library 102. Mail at or SLISC Box 'H84, Cedar City, UT 84720. Thone (801) 48o-775- 586-774- 8 586-775- m cowetioti flayed s Ht CZdATe STARTS, of f?a6zS. QArez. rosipcAiitiCi UtiTiL SCtiL Tti j Access The flag should get a little respect Access is a recurring column through which members of ; the campus community may address themselves to topics of concern andor interest. Todays column is by Lynn S. Dennett, a senior majoring in communication and the Thunderbird s assistant editor. Threadworn and tattered, the flag flew on.... That isnt part of the story of Francis Scott Key writing The Star Spangled Banner; its just what Ive thought as Ive passed the flag waving on the pole by the old Student Center. The ends tattered, the bottom stripe torn and flapping in the wind. In light of the recent Supreme Court decision about flag desecration, maybe leaving the flag up in this condition and ignoring it isnt so bad. Or is it? Not so long ago, people were persecuted for wearing clothing either resembling the U.S. flag or wearing the flag itself. In the movie Easy Rider, a motorcyclist was condemned for having the image of the flag painted on his helmet and wearing a leather jacket with the Stars and Stripes emblazoned on it. Even today, newscasters condemn foreign riots defaming the U.S. symbol. A flag stands for a nations land, people and its ideals. Desecration of the flag can only be an indirect attack on the United States. Yet, Old Glory is not safe even on the hallowed grounds of SUSC. There are no student-sponsore- d uprisings that would bum the flag and I have yet to see someone wearing star spangled shorts, but when the flag flies untouched for several weeks, during rain, snow or whatever conditions that prevail, I wonder if we are not practicing our own form of desecration. In 1917, William Tyler Page penned The American Creed in response to a national contest. He borrowed phrases and ideas from Americas leaders, writers and statesmen expressing the ideals and traditions of our the statement I therefore believe it is my duty to my country... to respect its flag. Stephen A. Douglas wrote, It is the duty of every American to rally around the flag of his country. Henry Ward Beecher defined the meaning of the flag thus: It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the government. It is the free people that stand in the government on the Constitution. Since the flag country. Among these ideals is such a powerful symbol, we should take care how is we treat it. In the Congressional Act of December 31, 1942, Congress gave several guidelines how a flag should be displayed. Basically, the flag should be flown from T do not condone burning the flag... However, we should bum our flag ; its a lesser desecration than ignoring it. sunrise to sunset, weather permitting, daily. The flag can be flown at night, but it must be lit. I cant count the times Ive passed the flagpoles in rain or at night with all three banners flapping in the wind. Possibly a passerby could take the flags down, but alas, there is a locked compartment preventing access to the ropes. Perhaps someone has lost the keys. Im sure that w'hen those in charge notice, a new flag will be flown. But, will our desecration by neglect stop? do not condone burning the flag. True, its just of cloth, but the flag as a symbol is much more. Ho wever, ue should burn our flag; its a lesser desecration than ignoring it. I a piece |