ABSTRACT
This edition is being published at a time when public universities are under severe budgetary pressure from their legislatures. Privates, too, have felt the sting as legislatures move to limit support for in-state students. The effect from the student’s point of view has been fewer sections of required courses and reduced financial aid support. This, in turn, raised anxiety that the student will not graduate on time, or may have to drop out of school for lack of funds. There is little a course instructor can do to fix the problem. Student anger is appropriate, but it must be directed at the proper actors. The university or college is not doing this to the student. You are just as frustrated by the situation as they are. Your class enrollments are higher. While details vary from state to state, you should encourage students to see themselves as political actors who can make their voices heard through their representatives. While that may not solve their immediate problem, it does empower them to look for solutions. As a practical matter, not all students will graduate in the typical fashion in the next few years. Some will cobble together courses from less expensive schools, finishing their degrees at the schools where they initially matriculated. This may take more than four years to accomplish. That is the way it worked in the 1930s. Try to turn the conversation into a moment when students can see themselves embedded in a history that will unfold in unpredictable ways. Encourage them to look for opportunities they might not otherwise have considered.
