|
Viewpoint:
Stakes are so high, no one can afford to sit this one out
By Dion Aroner, State Assemblywoman By 2010,
roughly 700,000 new students -- the children of the Baby Boom generation
-- will be seeking an education in California's public colleges. The question
looms large before us: how will our higher education systems accommodate
"Tidal Wave II," and what steps must we take now to address the impending
demand?
California
has no laws or legal entitlements that require the state's public universities
to make room for new students. Rather, the issue is one of historic and
moral obligation. Since 1960, the University of California has adhered
to the State Master Plan for Higher Education, maintaining a commitment
to enroll the top 12.5 percent of each year's high school graduating class.
As a Cal
alumna and an elected official whose district includes the Berkeley campus,
I am proud that the University of California has met the challenge of
the Master Plan and intends to continue its commitment to the state. But
with that commitment comes a significant challenge. In the next 10 years,
the University of California, systemwide, must absorb an additional 63,000
students. Every campus will feel the pressure, as will every community
in which a campus resides.
The Legislature
recognizes that the increased student population will have a huge impact
on local cities and communities, intensifying pressure on facilities,
housing, transportation, public safety, parking and more. We in Berkeley
understand the problem all too well; dense urban communities like ours
will certainly feel a disproportionate impact.
In the coming
years the Legislature will actively explore ways to assist communities
that will bear the greatest burden, and hopefully expand the number of
campuses. I believe we must use technology to integrate distance learning
more effectively into the university curriculum and meet some of the enrollment
demand at off-campus centers and through summer sessions.
In our own
community, it will take collective creativity, as well as sensitive decision-making
at the state level, to find workable methods to meet the expansion challenge.
It will also take a true partnership between the community and the university,
with give and take in both directions. Too often in the past, it has felt
to many like a one-way street. Ultimately we must view this as a mutual
"town and gown" challenge that, if we fail to meet successfully, could
deny our children the educational opportunities from which we -- their
parents -- benefited. Worse, if we fail to accommodate the future student
population, we will deprive UC Berkeley and our community of the demographic
diversity that is our state's future.
The 1960
Master Plan for Higher Education is currently undergoing rigorous review
by a legislative Master Plan committee. The revisions may take as long
as four years to complete, and I am troubled by some possible outcomes.
For example, among other adjustments, eligibility for the University of
California may be re-examined, or the percentage of eligible students
who will be accepted to the university may drop. Is this an outcome that
the state or our community desires? I don't believe it is.
All of us
in California, whether we are the parents of this new generation or the
business leaders who are dependent upon it for the economic future, will
benefit by making sure that California continues to serve the growing
number of young people who qualify for admission to the University of
California.
There is
no single answer to the growth challenge, but there is one crucial imperative
-- we must ensure that we meet the challenge by preserving both the quality
of education and the quality of life in the cities that are home to our
universities. As the legislative representative for the city of Berkeley
and surrounding communities, I plan to assist in the many adjustments
and accommodations that the campus, city and community will require to
meet this challenge. I look forward to working with community representatives
and university leaders as we negotiate the path before us.
|
