Education is already a scarce commodity, a luxury good, one only the most affluent among us can truly take advantage of. The public education system devolution is an extremely slippery slope to set foot on.

The more affluent among us are lucky enough to have a reason to go through high school, go to a community college, and transfer to a four-year university. But the UC system is going to be $500 million poorer next year. That’s a big number, but what it really means is, according to UC Santa Barbara’s Daily Nexus, the amount we pay would be a larger contribution to a “public” education system than what the state pays. What’s more is that the UC’s response is to preserve core education. Isn’t the point of going to university to get a degree in something specific? 

If university education becomes an extension of general education, university degrees will be even more devalued. Degrees are a currency with an inflation rate like cash, and soon graduate degrees will the new bachelor’s degree. For those of us struggling to attain a bachelor’s or associate’s degree, this is disastrous news. 

Poor people already can’t afford to go to college, and that’s tragically limiting. When you’ve got no hope of ever getting a degree, what are you really going to aspire to do? The major motivation to do well in high school is to get into a good college – if there’s no chance of you being able to pay for college, why would you even bother with grades in this academic climate? 

Of course this approach itself is fundamentally flawed, but that’s the system and mindset we have, and it comes at the price of wasted talent and a discouraged, disinterested generation. That’s a vast number of people who are simply victims of the system. Don’t be a victim.

Dramatic cuts to education are old news even as they’re news; we were expecting them and everyone knows there just isn’t any funding at the state level. It now falls to us, the injured parties, to pursue a solution, or at least delay the disaster as long as possible. 

Many of our clubs and organizations are trying their hardest to mobilize us: they’re investing significant effort to organize walk-ins, protests, fundraisers, and support. 

If you care about your education, if you have a reason for being here or a plan to leave here, you should consider getting involved. Actually read those leaflets. Text 105640 to 73774 to help the DASB raise money for tutoring. Join a rally (all you have to do is stand around with a bunch of people and yell a lot! Who doesn’t want that?). Help out DARE, De Anza Restoring Education. Call a representative. Make a poster. Make activist art. Do whatever comes naturally to you, and add a twist of activism to it – the first step is making people aware of exactly how dire this situation is. It’s kind of like fighting a big bully; if you take it lying down, it’s only going to get worse faster.