So the story goes like this; This past May the Arkansas' Department of Higher Education (ADHE) send out a letter to all the chancellors and presidents of all college and Universities across the state.

The news about Obama winning the elections has quickly been replaced with a series of scary headlines:

"Unemployment Rate at 14-Year High After Big October Losses" --NYT

"Wolves at the door: Financial mess and gathering recession dominate Barack Obama's agenda" --Economist

"US Carmakers Said to Seek $50 Billion in US Loans" --Bloomberg

September has been a busy time for young conservative leaders across American campuses. More onslaughts onto the freedoms of college students have been launched in hopes to turn more campuses in a pivotal election year more conservative. Several YP4 bloggers are documenting the damage:

There's a great op-ed from the Chronicle of Higher Education I just got forwarded. It lays out the case that many athletic departments (especially those in Division I), when their financial books are opened to the sunlight, are draining immense amounts of money from their parent institutions. Money that could be used to fund scholarships, loan repayment programs, and upgrade academic facilities.

No matter if one loves college sports or not, I think the lesson to be learned here is that when budgets are hidden and undemocratic, abuse runs rampant. Whether or not to heavily subsidize college sports programs should be a collective institutional decision, and not the prerogative of those on top. Students - and especially those on sports teams - should be organizing and demanding participatory budgeting.

I've included the article here:

Students at Concord University last month protested a proposed 6% hike in tuition. The University's Board of Governors was meeting on campus, and students made their opposition known. The Charleston Gazette:

Concord University students played Darth Vader's theme song as members of the university's board of governors walked through a crowd of 300 student-protesters last Tuesday.

The New York Times had a pair of articles last Sunday chronicling what seems to be an emerging "race to the bottom" among universities, to see who can most cut tuition, either across the board or for families under a certain income level. They also profile several schools that effectively have zero tuition.

The New York Times - "Keeping the Lid On"

The New York Times - "The (Yes) Low Cost of Education"

I've also included the full text of these articles on For Student Power (in case NYT changes the link or makes your register). Both of these articles are very important for campus radicals to read and chew on; it's a fantastic glimpse into the kind of "peer pressure" that goes on among colleges and universities. Up until recently, the trend was "if you raise your tuition, I'll raise mine," with the added revenue going either to prestige-building exercises (new buildings, facilities, etc.) or financial aid. And of course, there's this:

Donald Heller, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State, offers one reason: “There’s something we refer to in college pricing as the Chivas Regal effect. If an institution drops its price, it’s seen as a decrease in quality.”

It's sad, but it's something that's true, to a certain extent. And the NYT articles certainly show that in some cases, reducing tuition can have the opposite impact, and actually attract higher-income students, showing that as we look at our own universities, it isn't just the "sticker price" we should be worried about.

Having a good grasp of what your university's peers are doing in terms of tuition can be an effective weapon when fighting for lower tuition and more financial aid, with the goal being tuition abolition. It can also be a key part of any narrative you submit to the press. "All we're demanding X University do is what Y College and Z University have done. They all have similar endowments, so why is X being so greedy?"

Why should students get stressed? They're up in that elite ivory tower, removed from the troubles of the world! AP:

College kids are so frazzled they can't sleep or eat. Or study. Good grief, they're even anxious about spring break.

Most students in U.S. colleges are just plain stressed out, from everyday worries about grades and relationships to darker thoughts of suicide, according to a poll of undergraduates from coast to coast. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and mtvU, a television network available at many colleges and universities.

Four in 10 students say they endure stress often. Nearly one if five say they feel it all or most of the time.

Strapped: Why America's 20 and 30 somethings can't get ahead.

Great book; I read it in about 3 days. And I'd recommend it to anyone, so for this blog post, it is my recommendation to you.

Read a free excerpt over at www.StrappedTheBook.com and then go buy it.