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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

My roles as a citizen of this country are to obey the laws, stay informed so I can make better choices and vote for the right candidate, and respect the beliefs of others because America is diverse country.

As a immigrant I have learned a lot of stuff from this class about my civic responsibility. The most important thing that I have learned in this class is to stay informed and be able to tell the difference in bias, un-biased and fake news. I have learned a lot about the US government, and the Constitution because before this class I didn’t know much about the Constitution. 

Yes, I feel I should help address the rising cost of college tuition fees because I am a citizen of America now, and I will be going to college, so as a student I should do whatever I can to help address this issue. It can be just being informed about the issue, if not more.

I haven’t volunteered my time to respond to the rising cost of college tuition fees.

Somethings that I can do to respond to rising cost of college tuition fees are educating my family and other people about what I have learned during my research, so they can make better decisions about this topic. During my research I saw something about volunteering and going to a college and helping make the college a better place, so I can do this to address this issue. I can meet up with some officials who handle this issue to gain more information about the college tuition fees. These are some of the things that I can do to address rising college tuition fees.

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Executive Action Assessment of Issue

President Trump

Trump’s believes that our nation’s elementary and secondary education systems are falling behind, and he wants to improve our education system. In the education section I saw a lot of topics about making schools safer, or free speech in higher education, but I kept on looking for a specific topic about college tuition fees but I was not able to find one. I also pressed on the search tab to search my topic, but there were no topics about it, and I think it is a really important topic which should be specifically addressed. But I do agree with Trump’s stance on other education issues like free speech and making schools safer because lately schools are becoming less safer because of all the shootings.

Department of Education manages my issue.

The Department of Education fosters educational excellence, and to ensures equal access to educational opportunity for all. Yes it relates to my issue because it talks about “equal access to educational opportunity for all” which means they are trying to make it that everyone can obtain the education they want even though if they are not financially capable.

Betsy DeVos is the Secretary of Education. Secretary DeVos has been involved in education policy for nearly three decades as an advocate for children and a voice for parents. She is especially passionate about reforms that help underserved children gain access to a quality education. This impacts my issue by helping solve my issue because she has been involved in education policy for three decades, and she wants to provide education to the students who can’t afford it.

Grants would be suitable for responding my issue. So the department of education give grants to students who can’t afford the college fees which would help the students receive higher education.

So after looking at the president’s website and the department of education I saw a lot of stuff about making schools safer, and funding students by loans or grants, but i specifically did not see anything about reducing the college tuition fees. They are helping students by granting them money to afford colleges, but there is not much about reducing those fees.

SACAPS (https://www.forbes.com/sites/camilomaldonado/2018/07/24/price-of-college-increasing-almost-8-times-faster-than-wages/#7567eda466c1)

The subject of the article is that the price of colleges are increasing almost eight times faster than wages.

Camilo Maldonado is the author of the article, and it is form Forbes.

The American people are the intended audience especially the students who are going to receive education from colleges.

There is bias in the article, and the author’s perspective is that the rise of college price is not a good thing, and he uses the words like “sadly”, which shows us his bias.

The significance of the article is to inform the American people what is going on in the education system, and how the college prices are sky rocketing, and they are increasing eight more times than wages which is shocking because how are students suppose to get their education if the prices are this high, and they don’t get paid much.

Yes, I agree with his position because I believe that we have to stop this rise of prices for education because if the next generation will not be able to get education then how they are going to improve the nation.

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State and Legislative Action

1) Assembly member Kahan and State Senator Glazer

a) Assembly member kahan definitely wants to help college student, she mainly focuses on that students do not get scammed by  for-profit institutions that are based out-of-state. She also works on making sure that the scholarship money doesn’t count as the student income because it makes harder for the student to get into colleges if the scholarship money is counted as their income.  Steve Glazer focuses on providing higher education for college students.

b) I agree with both of their position because both of them want to provide better education to the students, and help the students receive that education.

c) Kahan has introduced the AB 807, and it has been signed by the governor, and this law makes sure that the scholarship is not counted as the student’s income. Glazer have introduced the $8 Billion Higher Education Bond Bill which has been approved by the senate.

2) California bill

a) SCR 37 is the bill number.

b) The bill was introduced on May 22, 2019.

c) The major action of the bill made 49 states and the District of Columbia offer 529 college savings plans, over 13.6 million 529 accounts have been opened, more than $328.9 billion have been saved for future higher education expenses, and more than one million students nationwide have withdrawn funds from 529 accounts to help pay higher education expenses.

d) i feel the bill is helpful because it provides college savings plans are important tools for California families that want to save for their children’s college education, offering a diverse range of investment options, tax-deferred growth, and withdrawals free of state and federal taxes when those withdrawals are used for qualified higher education expenses such as tuition, fees, books, computer equipment, certain room and board costs, and required supplies.

3) Congressman Desaulnier

a) He “values a public education, programs to support the “whole child,” and ensuring that all students gain the skills they need to succeed in our rapidly changing workplace”.

b) I did not find any specific bill about college tuition fees, but he had a bill about providing higher education to disabled students.

Senator Harris

a) Senator Harris believe that people are underestimating the true cost of college which means she understands that the rise of college tuition fees is a issue.

b) Recently Harris and her colleagues sued Corinthian Colleges for false and predatory advertising, securities fraud, and they insured that students will not be charged additional tuition fees, and that options will include all colleges of California.

Senator Feinstein

a) Senator Feinstein believes Washington must do more to improve the quality of K-12 education and increase the affordability of higher education. Senator Feinstein supports proposals to allow student loan borrowers to refinance both their federal and private student loans at lower interest rates.

b) Senator Feinstein has consistently used her role on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fight for robust funding of many federal financial aid assistance programs, including the Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) programs, that support millions of undergraduate students pursuing a degree.  Senator Feinstein has been a supporter of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which forgives federal student loans for borrowers who have worked for ten years in the public sector as long as they have made 120 qualifying monthly payments.

4) Bills

a) Yes there are a lot of bills that pertain to my issue.

b) House Bill 5383

c) Middle Class College Tuition Tax Credit Expansion Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning tax credits with a new American Opportunity Tax Credit.

d) It will allow an increased income tax credit for the qualified tuition and related expenses of a student who is carrying at least one half of a normal course load, increases the income threshold for reductions in the credit amount based upon modified adjusted gross income, allows a lifetime dollar limitation on such credit of $25,000 for all taxable years.

e) I would yea because I feel like this bill help students get their education.

f) The bill originated in the House, but it has not moved to the senate.

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Political Interest Groups, and PAC Assessment

1) National Interest Group

National Education Association.

NAE focuses more on college loans, their perspective about education is that “every American should have access to higher education, regardless of income or zip code”.

NAE wants to help students get their education, and they talk about different issues and solutions. 1) They talk about the issue of the Higher Education Act which was made to ensure that every American should have access to higher education, but in 2016-17 school year, states invested $9 billion less in public colleges and universities than they did in 2008. 2) They also tackle the issue of the Promoting Real Opportunity, Success and Prosperity through Education Reform proposed by the GOP, this reform would eliminate loan-forgiveness for public service, capping student loans, and relaxing oversight of for-profit schools with a history of preying on at-risk students. NEA opposes the PROSPER Act in its current form. 3) They mention the College for All Act introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Pramila Jayapal would make community college free and eliminate tuition and fees at four-year public colleges. 4) They talk about how if a person is public school educator they may qualify for partial or entire loan forgiveness 5) They also encourage The Public Service Loan Forgiveness aims to preserve PSLF, which encourages students to pursue careers in education, firefighting, law enforcement, and other forms of public service.

NAE really supports the College for All Act introduced in April 2017 by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, would make community college free and eliminate tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities for students from families earning less than $125,000 a year — about 80 percent of the population. The bill also cuts student loan interest rates in half and would allow student loans to be refinanced when interest rates drop.

The NAE is located in Burlingame, CA. There are no local meetings that I can attend.

I was not able to find any volunteer opportunities. 

Some other interesting information I found was NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs.

2) State Interest Group (There were no interest groups that were tackling my issue. This association was the closest to my issue so picked this one)

Cal State Student Association. 

CSSA work to improve the college experience for students. CSSA has long advocated for access to an affordable and high-quality CSU education.

CSSA mostly focuses on improving college life for students. So far they have achieved Improving college textbook affordability, Combating food insecurity, Ensuring student participation in the governance of the CSU system, Empowering students to lead sustainability initiatives at their campuses, Partnering with the Secretary of State and CSU Chancellor’s Office to register students to vote, Hosting a summit to educate CSU students on higher education legislation and issues, Successfully advocating for more state funding for the CSU system. And they plan on making more progress.

They support that every student should be able to get higher education, so to take action about the issue they hosted a summit to educate CSU students on higher education legislation and issues. This is the only topic that came close to college loans or rising college tuition fees the issue that I am working on, but they basically work on improving college life for students.

CSSA professional staff are split between the two organizational locations, the headquarters in Long Beach, CA and the Office of Government Relations in Sacramento, CA. There are no local meeting that I could attend.

They probably have some volunteer stuff that the students can do during the meeting and events that CSSA holds, but I couldn’t find anything specific.

Something interesting that I found is that CSSA is funded by a $2 fee, assessed twice a year to all CSU students, called the Student Involvement & Representation Fee or SIRF.

3)  I found the NEA more successful because they cover a lot of issues and solutions for the college loans and rising college tuition fees. The CSSA barely focuses on my topic, so I think NEA is more successful. The NEA is more organized because they pretty specific topics they talked about. The audience that is mainly targeted by the NEA is American students. They have tons of members which means there are lots of supporters of the association because people like to believe in associations that states facts, and NEA does state facts. 

4) PAC

Adtalem Global Education.

I didn’t really see any statements stating their perspective, but I am guessing they want to help students get the education they want.

The total receipt is $30,379. They have spent $39,000. They have $169,840 cash on hand.

They spend 52% on Democrats and 48% on Republicans.

All the donors are regular people which shows that they are not getting big chunks of money from any companies or organizations.

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Political Party Action

  Republican

The republicans talk about the how the college tuition fees and student debts have been rising. The solution they present to bring down college costs and give students access to a multitude of financing options, private sector participation in student financing should be restored. In order to encourage new modes of higher education delivery to enter the market, accreditation should be decoupled from federal financing, and states should be empowered to allow a wide array of accrediting and credentialing bodies to operate. 

Yes, I agree with their position because they want every student do get education, and they come up with ways to reduce college debts.

Democrat

The democrats believe that every student should get the education they want. They make a lot of claims about making education available and more affordable to every student in America. They also say that they will help the students who are buried under debt by letting them refinance their loans at the lowest rates possible.

Yes, I agree with their position because they are all for making education available to every student, but the only part I had a little concern about is    they make a lot of claims, but they don’t really explain how they are going to accomplish all these goals.

Libertarian

Libertarians believe that parents should have control of and responsibility for all funds expended for their children’s education, without interference from government.

I do not agree with their position because they believe that government should not be responsible for helping the future of America get education.

Green

The Green party supports equal access to high-quality education, and sharp increases in financial aid for college students. The party focuses more on race issues, they want every student of all races and economic status to get the education they want. They list a lot of topics that they will tackle, and support the students, and they believe it is important because they are the future of America.

Yes, I agree with their position because unlike the libertarians they think it is their responsibility to help the future of America to make a better nation.

Peace and Freedom

Peace and Freedom party do talk about education, but they barely talk about the college debts and college tuition fees. But they want all the students to get education which indicates that they want aid college funding.

Yes, I agree with their point of view because they want help aid students even though they barely touch on college tuition fees and debts.

C - I identify with democrat party the most because they really touch on the topic of rising college tuition fees and student debts, and they want to aid the students get education, and they seem really focused on the topic out of all the other parties. Yes I would vote for the Democrat party because I agree with their beliefs, and I feel like they will really make change in college tuition fees.

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Constitutional Issues

Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn.

It was decided on Apr 4, 2011.

Arizona taxpayers challenged the constitutionality of Arizona's tuition tax credit in an Arizona federal district court. They alleged the tax credit violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it funneled money to private religious schools. The district court dismissed the case. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the taxpayers had standing to bring their suit and had alleged a viable Establishment Clause claim.

Do the plaintiffs lack standing because they cannot allege that the Arizona tuition tax credit involves the appropriation or expenditure of state funds?

The First Amendment is in the question in this case.

It was a 5-4 decision for Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization majority opinion by Anthony M. Kennedy.

The decision establishes that nobody should challenge the constitutionality of tuition tax credit under the violation of the First Amendment.

Yes I agree with the court’s decision because the challengers to the tax credit in Arizona lack standing under Article III.

Article

New Mexico Announces Plan for Free College for State Residents

S - The article talks about the new plan of New Mexico to make tuition at its public colleges and universities free for all state residents, regardless of family income, so all students can require higher education regardless of their family income.

A - The authors of the article are Simon Romero and Dana Goldstein from The New York Times which is one of the most reliable source for news.

C - The article was produced on Sept. 18, 2019 in America. The article is really recent which makes it more relevant for the readers.

A - The article was created for the readers of The New York Times and the American population especially the students.

P - The article is biased because it shows having no tuition fees is good which is good, but it doesn't show why tuition fees are important. I agree with the author’s claim because every student should have the right to receive higher education without worrying about the tuition fees.

S - The significance of the article is that colleges are staring to do something about the rising tuition fees, and they are trying to help every student get higher education regardless of their income which will also inspire other colleges to do the same.

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Media Assessment of Rising Cost of College Tuition

1) Washington Times (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/8/virginia-legislature-makes-moves-to-keep-tuition-d/).

CBS News (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-student-debt-plan-wants-would-erase-college-loans-by-taxing-wall-street/F).

MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com/ronan-farrow-daily/will-congress-turn-its-back-students).

2) SACAPS

Washington Times

S - The subject of the article is about the Virginia legislature attempts to keep college tuition down. Virginia’s General Assembly plan to keep the tuition fees down is by offering public universities incentives to cap tuition rates.

A - The author of this article is Adrian Teran-Tapia from Washington Times which is one of the most reliable news source in America.

C - The source was produced in America on February 8, 2019, so the article is just seven months old which makes it more relevant.

A - The article was created for the people who read Washington Times, and for the population of America, and mainly for the students and their families who struggle because of the rising college tuition fees.

P - The article is subjective. In the article they only talk about how the Virginia Legislature is trying to keep the tuition fees low, and it seems like they are portraying it as a good thing. They do not talk about the other side which is keeping the tuition fees high. The author’s claim is to keep the tuition fees low, and I agree with the claim as a student because if the fees just keep on rising then students wouldn’t be able to get proper education.

S - The significance and the evidence for the author’s claim is that the college tuition fees are rapidly going up, so the government needs to do something to lower them, and so they show how Virginia Legislature is going to keep the tuition fees low. But if the government doesn’t do anything about the fees then students might not be able to get proper education.

CBS News

S - The subject of the article is about Bernie Sanders’ student debt plan in which he plans to erase $1.6 trillion in loans by taxing Wall Street.

A - The author of this article is Aimee Picchi from CBS News which is one of the most reliable source.

C - The source was produced in America on June 24, 2019. This article is really recent which makes this article more relevant to the audience.

A - It was created for the CBS News readers and the population of America, and mainly for the students and their families who struggle because of the rising college tuition fees.

P - This article is objective because it just shows facts, and it doesn’t take sides. It also shows the perspective of Sanders’ rival Sen. Elizabeth Warren. They both trying to erase the debt of the students, but they both have different plans on how they are going to help the students. I agree with Sanders plan because I feel that taxing all stock market trades will slowly, but surely help the students get proper education.

S - The significance of the article is that the college tuitions fees are rapidly rising, and if they keep rising then students might not be able afford their education, so the students debt should be erased.

MSNBC

S - The main point in this article is the heavy amount of college loans on the students, this article also give an example of a women Becky Gaul who is school teacher now, but she is still under the huge debt of college loans.

A - The author is Ronan Farrow from MSNBC which is also a reliable source.

C - The source was produced in America on January 28, 2014. This means that the source is quite old, so the audience might not know what is present situation of the issue.

A - The source was created for the readers of MSNBC and the American population, and mainly for the students and their families who struggle because of the rising college tuition fees.

P - The article is subjective because the author shows sympathy with the victim of high college debts, and wants the government to take actions and help people who are struggling because of these heavy college loans. The author’s claim is that the government should take actions to help the people of America who are struggling because of the college loans. I agree with this claim because  as a student I do not want struggle because of the rising college tuitions fees.

S - The significance is that college tuition fees are rising, and the government should take actions, but the actions are either too little or there are no actions because this article is from 2014, and in 2019 students still struggle with the college loans.

3) The similarities between the three articles are that they all talk about how should or how the government is taking actions towards the rising cost of college tuition fees. The differences between the three articles are that they all have different methods on how tackle this issue, and in some of the articles the government was taking actions, but in the others they weren’t.

4) I identify with CBS news the most because they showed an actual plan that the government had to tackle the issue with, whereas the others were more about showing the struggles of the students, and that the government should take action, but there was not an actual plan.

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CONCEPTUALIZATION THE ISSUE AND ASSESSING TYPES OF ACTION

1) The civic action issue I chose is rising cost of college tuition.

2) It is an issue because it is harder for students to get education because of the increase in cost for college tuition.

3) I heard about a plan in which they talked increasing the taxes for the people who made more money, and that money can used to help students get the education they want. This can be a way to address this issue.

4) I am following Hillary Clinton, Education Reform Now, EWA, AcademicsSay and SCUS Board Chair. The tweet that I found interesting was from AcademicsSay. The tweet talked about what advice to give to students, and the answer was “Give money, not advice”. I agree with this tweet because the  college fees is one of the biggest issue in students’ life right now.