One of the major talking points of Presidential current candidate Bernie Sanders is the need to allow college to be free for all. Many "Millennials," the current generation of entitled teens and early 20-somethings that believe that rules, laws and opportunities should be theirs with no real effort on their part; free college is just an extension of that entitlement. After reviewing the available information it becomes clear that while there is definitely room for reform in the high cost of education and the extreme levels of student debt that many accrue, it becomes clear that free college is not beneficial in the long run. Without a cost students do not value the opportunity and will waste the time of universities all across the country, there are some people whose academic and intellectual ability may be far too low for what is needed in college and, finally, it would leave colleges with far less monies to staff free universities, as many professors would be expected to work for far lower salaries.
Supporters of free college feel that making access to knowledge free because it renders everyone as equal as possible will better the lives of many individuals (Christ 1). When you enter any classroom you see many diverse students. However, in this era where “all children are equal” mentality there are students in these classes that excel far above other students and those that fail to reach even the most basic of educational milestones. Some students are much smarter than others, that is a simple biological fact. Millennial parents believe that there child is super special and as smart as any other and that everyone should get a trophy just for showing up. In college that cannot be allowed to happen. If one is not intelligent enough to intellectually compete then they do not belong in college. However, the “free college” supporters believe that any disparities in possible educations would be eliminated and, therefore, the guarantee of future employment (Samuels 1). In parts of Europe College is free, but one can only attend college if they pass a test that finds them suitable. That is a fantastic solution for the United States as well. If you are smart enough and educated enough then college is a free opportunity, but if not then these people need to find a different path other than college.
The idea that everyone should have free college is intended to be an equalizing factor. It is intended to allow students from low socioeconomic backgrounds to have an opportunity to do what children of wealthier families have. Bernie Sanders is presently arguing for free college tuition for all American students who want the opportunity to attend. However, we have seen what a free public school system has done, and that is nothing good (James 1). The modern equalizing of education has led to the adoption of “Core” Curriculums which is an abridged version of knowledge that can be understood and mastered by even the least intelligent. College is higher education. It is the opportunity to learn more than whatever basic reading, writing and arithmetic that children are required to learn. It will lower the standard of the education to avoid hurting the feelings of the students who cannot really compete with others. Again, the free tuition is most appealing to Millennial students who want to show up and receive a degree and then a job without any work, effort or dedication from the individual students.
The final major issue that remains heavily debated by both sides of the issue is cost. If college becomes a free option then how do these colleges and universities maintain their expenses? Colleges gain much of their operations monies from the number of students who pay to attend (Wyner and Herk 1). Without that income, then colleges would be funded through the government. That said the government would then decide what is and what is not essential, input into what knowledge is shared and what requirements would be needed to succeed in earning a degree. University is called higher education because it gives students the opportunity to learn about things that are not always included in the basic Core curriculums that have been standardized. If colleges simply open their doors to whomever without any acknowledgment that some students are more suited for college than others would be a huge waste of funds and smarter student’s time.
The ultimate question is” should college education be free for all?” The answer is a solid and profound no; absolutely not. The simple fact is that intelligence is not equal, it would ruin higher education with a standardized core approach as used in public schools and the costs of free education would diminish quality of the educations that colleges and universities have to offer. In light of these facts it would be unwise to make colleges free for all because it will slowly but surely lose their value. The best solution is to adopt the format used in parts of Europe where only those who pass the tests can enroll, eliminating the less competent and preventing the wasting of the institutions time and energy on those that simply do not belong. This would help to offset costs with smaller and elite students; not the Millenials who believe everything should be handed to them.
WORK CITED
Christ, Carol. “Higher Education: Should College Be Free For All?” University of California
Berkeley. (2015): 1. Web. <http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2015/05/23/higher-education/>.
James, Kevin. “Bernie's Bad College Idea.” U.S. News. (2015): 1. Web.
<http://www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/05/27/why-bernie-sanders-free-public-college-plan-is-a-bad-idea>.
Samuels, Bob. “Why All Public Higher Education Should Be Free.” The Huffington Post.
(2012): 1. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-samuels/why-all-public-higher-edu_b_1099437.html>.
Wyner, Joshua and Monica Herk, “Should Community Colleges Be Tuition-Free?” The Wall
Street Journal. (2015): 1. Web. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/should-community-colleges-be-tuition-free-1442368892>.
