As you’re probably aware, college tuition isn’t cheap.

If you’re an in-state student with no scholarships taking 15 credits a semester, chances are you’re paying over $6,000 dollars in tuition and fees alone for two semesters of work. Add in the cost of housing, food w other expenses, the cost can be upwards of $10,000. And as the years have gone by, tuition costs have continued to rise as a result of the economy.

Last spring, students faced substantial worry as Gov. Ritter looked to cut $300 million from the higher education to help erase a budget deficit. The impending cuts led to many rumors and fear over what the cuts would do the cost of tuition and whether schools would be financially viable.

In March, Associated Student Government members rallied at the state capitol with other students from around the state on our behalf. Despite having the leadership of ASG, it still left many students feeling vulnerable, as if the true voices of the higher education community were not being heard. As much as students speak, it is often ignored because of our youth.

While $300 million was eventually cut from the higher education budget, much of it was cancelled out by federal funding. In the future, getting that federal funding is not a guarantee and the consequences of another major budget cut could be realized.

For that reason, we support the recent movement by ASG President Nick Lopez and fellow ASG member Apollo Garcia to create a non-profit organization aimed at keeping funding at its current levels and creating opportunities for the state to increase its funding.

The organization, which is a separate entity from ASG, is known as the Sustainable Higher Education Initiative and attempts to tackle the issue on a regional basis by reaching out to members and representatives of the community. Among the goals is keeping higher education affordable so students, both current and future, can afford to attend college without sacrificing too much.

“We need to ensure that if someone is eligible to go to college, it is not the issue of funding that prevents them from attending,” President Lopez said in his speech announcing the organization Friday. “It is through the efforts of the Sustainable Higher Education Initiative, alongside our student leaders, supporters, volunteers and advisors, that together we can reach this lofty yet achievable goal.”

As students, we should take partial responsibility for keeping our tuition low. Higher education should not be limited to the elite, and this organization will give students something permanent to rally behind. We should embrace the efforts of President Lopez and work to get increased funding. If we don’t, it’s students that will pick up the tab. And really, who can afford that?

sschlauf@mesastate.edu