“But by the choice of those before us”

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A half-century ago, the leaders of California made a commitment to the future. That commitment was based on the belief in a free public higher education; that commitment was named the Master Plan for Higher Education.

The Master Plan created the three-tiered system for public higher education. It formed the California Community Colleges system, a network of 110 campuses, where any individual over the age of 18 and a desire to learn could go to obtain an Associate’s degree, a certificate or prepare to transfer to a 4-year institution.

It formed the California State University system, a web of 23 campuses, where any individuals who met certain qualifications could pursue a Bachelor’s, Master’s and selected Doctoral degrees. Many of California’s teachers, nurses and engineers got their start at a state university.

Lastly, it established the University of California, a research hub of 10 campuses, where any individuals who met certain qualifications could pursue degrees on par with those offered at the State University in addition to study law, dentistry and medicine. Moreover, it was the de facto research arm of the state, discovering and creating new knowledge.

Together, the three systems form the pipeline of California’s future entrepreneurs, teachers, public servants, doctors and leaders. With the power of one belief, to the power of 3 systems, to the power of 143 campuses, to the power of millions of students, there lies a promise to the future of California and the world.

Since then, the Master Plan and the belief it was based on has been under assault.

This assault began in 1978, when a majority of voters fundamentally, and unknowingly, changed our society from majority democracy to minority tyranny. Proposition 13 amended the state constitution to require two-thirds of the legislature to approve budgets or raise taxes, instead of a democratic majority.

In 1978, an individual had to pay $0 to attend community college, $212 to attend a California State University and $720 to attend a University of California. Thirty years later, in 2009, an individual has to pay $600 to attend community college, $3,797 to attend a California State University and $8,020 to attend a University of California.

Five years after Proposition 13 passed, in 1983, the belief in a free public higher education died when students had to pay $100 to attend community college.

Our representative government is controlled by a minority tyranny because of Proposition 13 and has maintained a public policy of imposing fees on individuals who seek higher education and knowledge.

For all allowance, for all the financial aid, for all the scholarships, for all the jobs, that a student can get, receive, obtain and work, this very poisonous notion that it cost to access a higher education is detrimental at the least and damning at the most.

It is this very poisonous notion that leads individuals, families and communities to perceive that they cannot afford college; that they will not be able to pursue higher education; that education is not and isn’t supposed to be free and that the knowledge obtained through such education is limited only to those who can pay.

What bothers me most about this very poisonous notion is not the immediate cost it had on me and my family, but the affect it has to limit our communities’ ability to experience a world of new knowledge.

When people cannot obtain higher education, they cannot readily formulate new scientific theories, express new thoughts about culture and society, find new cures to cancers and diseases, envision new ways of harnessing the power of the sun, earth and water, implement new ways to perform life saving medical procedures, discover new life forms in the depths of our oceans and beyond the galaxies we can see, and produce a foundation of knowledge for the next generation to build upon.

Our generation understands this; that is why we are fighting, with tooth and nail and sweat and blood.

We must continue to do whatever it takes to wipe away this very poisonous notion and restore belief in a free public higher education. This must eventually be achieved by restoring majority democracy and enacting public policy that invests in higher education. It is only by doing so that the next generation will have the means to access a world of new knowledge left undiscovered by our generation, not by our own choice, but by the choice of those before us.