Free College

In 1957 I graduated from UCLA debt-free, because tuition cost nothing for state citizens at the state universities. No red tape, no loans. That was helpful to untutored people like me in working class families. Californians understood that a strong education led to better understanding of life and a richer economy. 

I graduated from a university that ranks second among public universities in the United States (Berkeley ranks first). I went on to become a college professor.

Today a year's tuition at UCLA for a California resident is a little over $13,000 in a state whose economy would rank fifth among the world's nations. There are many families that can't deal with that. Republicans took us steeply backwards in funding education.

Several assembly members have a bill now pending (AB 2) that would, in effect, allow many full-time students to study tuition free at our junior colleges. That would be a step in the right direction. What we had 60 years ago, we can have again. And the better educated California becomes, the stronger our economy will be.