With Tom Foley stepping down on Monday in the Gubernatorial race, all Connecticut citizens must start to look at how Malloy’s decisions and stances will affect them. There is an unfortunate problem growing from today’s youth which seems to favor apathy toward the state’s politics.
To get out of this political and economic recession that we are in, we must have more involvement from the future of this country. That future is vastly dominated by college-aged students. If you are not going to vote for the future, you should at least know how the decisions of others have affected you.
Dannel Malloy will become the governor of this state, but is this better or worse than having Tom Foley at the helm would have been for CCSU students?
The CSU system as we know it works only fair at best. Under Foley, he was set to propose that we combine the CSU system with the University of Connecticut and all it’s branches and all the other community colleges in the state. With more voices in the hearings and meetings pertaining to the decisions that we make as universities, the input of a school like CCSU will hold less bearing than before.
When lobbying for an increase in budget, academics and sports, this is all important. Malloy seems to have a better grasp on what is actually happening in the universities around the state, as well. Now that higher education is becoming expected of all employers, the entry students have become weaker as a whole. Malloy is in favor of a “13th grade” to strengthen the universities student bodies.
Coming from a background which included a rise from adversity, where he could barely read and write himself, Malloy appreciates the fact that not everyone is ready for college without a few extra steps. While Foley isn’t completely against this idea, he is focused on Connecticut becoming the best in education, but simply by the numbers. By educating a certain body of people, there could be a huge disparity between the educated and non-educated in time. This can be avoided by adding affordable and sensible higher education to the state.
Malloy wants to convert some of our community colleges to be able to handle four year degrees. This would expand the possibilities for students and allow the CSU system to be viewed to a higher standard in this state. If the “bubble” student who is accepted to this university can now go to a community college for their education, this will strengthen our student body.
In addition to making our university stronger, Malloy wants to keep us here longer and make it easier for us to do so. He is making it a high priority to keep a high level of state financial aid to students. If this means that the average student can leave with less debt, this will make our state’s economy even stronger. We will all hopefully graduate at some point and when we do none of us want to have the burden of paying back our tuition expenses.
Most students at this university are getting tired of the fact that they are not the focus. Administration wants and goals seem to have become the driving force behind a lot of what goes on at this institution. From policy issues to spending, whatever decisions must be made cannot inconvenience the faculty, even if they benefit the student. This year, for the first time in over a decade, there is a potential tuition freeze.
This is a step in the right direction in making sure that the students come first in education. While we are benefiting from this, the non-unionized staff at this institution has to handle a pay freeze, making us the first priority. This includes our President, Jack Miller, who is one of the highest paid administrative employees in the state. Our university is a place for education, not where we should be trying to profit.
While we all realize that monetary rewards and incentives help drive the desire to teach and administer at an institution, this can not be the focus. Dan Malloy will become our governor and it seems to be the right choice the students of this university, even if you weren’t involved in making that choice.
