Letters and Comments for April 24, 2009

Litchfield

Invest in higher education

To the Editor:

During hard financial times, it is imperative that our state make smart decisions that will give it the highest yield in the future. The most influential, but often overlooked, solution is an investment in higher education. Oregon can only benefit from an educated and industrious workforce that institutions like Eastern Oregon University generate.

Across the state, applications for student aid and enrollment applications are dramatically rising, but funding is inversely dwindling. With rising unemployment rates, especially in rural Oregon which has some of the highest numbers in the state, more individuals are looking to a university like EOU for a way out.

Drastic budget cuts are occurring in nearly all public sectors, and it seems as if they will only continue.

Disinvestment in post-secondary education in Oregon is not a new trend. The result of these actions has led to a lack of student services for those who are in the most need, along with program and faculty cuts, which only hinder community improvement efforts. First generation and low-income students, whom EOU largely serves, are priced out of an education by decreasing financial aid and conversely increasing tuition.

By prioritizing post-secondary education in Oregon, we are able to get the state back on the right track, while ensuring its successful future.

Molly Litchfield

Associated Students

of Eastern OregonUniversity