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Show A10 OPINIONS Growing pains: the reasoning behind our tuition hikes sidized by tax revenue, but not every school receives the same amount. Flagship schools, such as the University of Utah, have budThere are few things that students should gets that dwarf ours. Their programs need expect more, yet dread less, than annual tu- staggering amounts of funds, so more is alition hikes. In the last decade, we have seen located to them than is allocated to us. a 122 percent increase in tuition. The problem is that there is no parity in Comparatively, most other Utah schools the ratio of state funds to tuition. Proporhave had a lesser increase at around 100 tionally, we are the only students in the percent. This is partly due to the transition state that are asked to put more towards our from community college to four-year uni- education than our state is willing to spend. versity. The increase has come to be expect- Each university has a different percentage, ed each semester. with most schools seeing around 60 percent Additionally, the cost of living went of funding coming from the state while 40 up by around 25 percent. Going to school percent comes from the students' tuition. As is more expensive now, no matter how it students, we pay for more towards tuition is justified or how than the state pays mmmmmm^^_^_^^^_ _ _ _ _ ^ _ ^ _ you look at it. I in funding. It's been have two issues as that way for three "The state is handicapped... years now. No other a student. First, state [because] we'r^gir owing Utah school is in the spending on higher r A A-L. j/i_ same situation. education has not taster man tne economy can Neither of these increased at the problems can be increase tax revenue.' same rate as our -; solved in the near tuition. Although •i future. Tuition has the state has spent, • been increasing : on a whole, around 25 percent more than it across'.the country and there is .nothing to did a decade ago, this has only kept pace suggest that we'll see that change soon. with living costs, not the extra costs stu- Student enrollment may drop as tuition dents carry. Tax revenue does not increase becomes unaffordable, but few, if any, of faster than the economy grows, and the state us will be here to experience it. Little will has spent almost 15 percent of the available happen irtrthe next few years as tax revenue budget on higher education every year. remains low, but keeping the issue fresh in The real problem may come down to our legislators" minds is important if we supply and demand. We are seeing an in- want change. crease in students and more students that Even if state funding doesn't keep up attend means more college degrees in the with tuition increases, we need to have community, hence more resources needed more equality between schools. Writing the for quality education. The state is handi- state legislature and, getting involved with capped in how much it can add to the al- student groups working with them, such as ready inconsistent funding every year, so the Utah Student Association, are the tools the rest has to be made up by us. We're we have to correct the issue.The alternative ' growing faster than the economy can inis to sit back and complain about the crease tax revenue. higher tuition next year, and The second issue every year after that. deals with equality. Every state school is subBy Mike Sanborn Opinions Writer Bryan Gomm/UVU Review Jake Buntjer/UVU Review Student-parents and their young are both being overlooked by the school. Boobs: not just for decoration Campus sorely lacks lactation facilitation By Mel Sundquist Opinions Writer Though Utah law allows a woman to breast-feed in any public location, most student-parents would prefer to avoid baring their lovelies in the Hall of Flags or sitting awkwardly on lidless toilets to pump breast milk for their babies. For a university that boasts its ability to accommodate unconventional students, this school is completely overlooking the needs of many studentparents. As the school grows in size, we must begin to meet the needs of lactating mothers. Plans are being made for a new Student Life and Wellness Center, which could potentially provide the private haven that mothers require. "I recognize that there are several mothers on campus who would benefit from having areas of privacy to breast-feed," said Richard Portwood, student body president. "In the process of selecting what will eventually be inside the student center, we invite...as many ideas as possible to -put on the drawing board before any final decisions are made." Whether or not the Student Life and Wellness Center will become a reality is to be decided by the Board of Regents on August 27. Under the recent health care reform laws, it is required to provide both time and space.for employees to express milk for at least one year after their babies are born. There is, however, no law in Utah declaring the rights of the breast-feed-* ing students, and therefore these students often go un- noticed. If campus leaders would begin to support and encourage breast-feeding, the school may almost deserve its reputation as being friendly to parent-students. Lactation rooms are simple, small and can be inexpensive. From a utilitarian point of view, facilitating breast-feeding not only improves the health of students' babies, it can improve student productivity as well as recruitment and retention. It can also reduce student or employee absenteeism due to a child's illness. The rooms themselves should be private, clean and not attached to a bathroom. At the very least comfortable chairs* tables, sockets and decent lighting should be provided. Exemplary schools, including the University of Arizona, Columbia, Tulane and the University of Michigan, go further than these basic requirements. These and other schools provide hospital-grade pumps with discounted breast pump accessories to students and employees. Their lactation rooms include bulletin boards to promote a breast-feeding community; literature about infant wellness, parenting and student-parent or employee-parent rights; photos of babies to help the mothers' milk let down; contact information for lactation consultants and a sink with soap and paper towels. UC Berkeley's Women's Resource Center, for example, has a lactation program with a coordiifltor in charge of scheduling times in lactation rooms to assure privacy and availability. Our campus does provide women's health services, including birth control and rudimentary prenatal care, but once a student's child is born, the needs of the breast-feeding parent are largely ignored. Current spaces allocated for parents and their children, like the parent's room in the library, do not accommodate breastfeeding. However, Wee Care, the on-campus daycare program , does accommodate lactating students. According to Mary Ellen Larsen, director of Wee Care, parents are welcome to visit between classes to nurse. They also allow you to drop off bottles of pumped milk. Since Wee Care is federally funded, not all parents who would like to enroll are able to. Peggy Pasin, coordinator of the school's Women's Resource Center, said she was unaware of any lactation support program or lactation rooms available to students on campus and had never been approached by a student asking for one. Breast-feeding is too often considered a taboo subject, making it uncomfortable for mothers to ask to be accommodated. If you are a student frustrated by inadequate lactation facilities on campus, contact the Women's Resource Center at 801-8638080 or drop a note in the UVUSA suggestion boxes. Be specific about your needs: the time you require to pump, what information you are lacking, where a lactation room is needed, etc. Choosing to breast-feed is the first good decision a mother can make for her baby, and institutional inconvenience shou^pbt deprive our wee Wolverines of their right to health |