Merry's Voice
How have increased tuition fees impacted you and your family?:
In my sophomore year of college, I was at a crossroads between majors. Instead of floundering between majors and spending money on extra classes I may not need, I took a semester off to make money and make a decision. Due to budget cuts, student slot cuts, tuition increases, and housing increases, I was unable to re-attend San Francisco State. Instead, I worked a full time job for three years before finally giving up my dreams of completing my degree at San Francisco State. How have the increased fees impacted me and my family? We moved (for me, for my education) to Colorado, where fees for out-of-state students were still less than fees for in-state students in California. My entire family had to pick up and move to Colorado because of the tuition (and other) increases.
What are you studying at SF State and what do you hope to do once you graduate?:
I was between a Classics major and a major in Costume Design for Theatre. I truly loved both majors, but a double major would have been entirely too expensive. Because of the move to Colorado, the Classics degree is a dream deferred indefinitely, and the scope of Costume Design at UNC is disappointingly myopic. For any theatre degree, a move OUT of San Francisco and INTO the middle of Colorado is a huge move backwards in experience, opportunity, innovation, and knowledge. Once I am done here, I hope to be able to get back to San Francisco for my graduate degree, then boogie on over to Europe, where art and theatre are valid career choices, and funding is a priority.
Merry M., 23 Greeley
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