I have been busily working away on my MA the past few weeks. At one point I felt like I really had a handle on my topic. Recently I am starting to feel like the book I am currently reading is sort of the thesis I was planning on writing. Only argued with a different emphasis then I would bring. This is making me re-think my plan a little, because I remember during my honours paper I thought I would do something different from a scholar who had written a thesis on my topic, but once I got down to actually writing, I had to admit that our conclusions weren’t all that dissimilar. I am planning on talking to my advisor soon and hopefully by then I will have a better grip on my plan.
Funny thing is, I think all of us graduate students dread a little bit the question “when are you going to be done?” I know I do, but I also see it in some of my colleagues faces as well when they are asked that question. I have to admit, I am sometimes the evil person who asks them.
Anyway, studying has sometimes taken a backseat to politics here at Concordia during the recent protests here in regards the tuition hikes. The Quebec government is planning on raising tuitions for Quebec residents over the next 5 years. The proposed raise is quite steep: it will amount to a 75% increase, or 325$ per year. This has been quite the contested issue here in Quebec, as many student associations have declared themselves on strike to protest, which has in turn divided many student bodies.
So what to make of it? What’s the answer?
My own position is that I don’t want tuitions to go up as much as planned. I think student associations should be pushing hard to lower the increased tuition costs. However, many of the hardline student politicians and provincial student associations in Quebec have a policy that tuition should be free, so they feel the tuition rate that already exists is a compromise, and their minimum bargaining position. Depending on who you ask, neither the government nor the students are willing to negotiate from their positions.
Now here at the cult of academia I really question our academic model. I mean, academia is elitist, and I think it will always be elitist. Many of the gestures towards being more inclusive themselves become enclaves of elitism. I would not argue that universities are bad per se, but I think they are often seen for something they are not. This is not to say that university shouldn’t be affordable; it should, and I think this is a noble thing to strive for because universities can offer some upward mobility within society, and they can be empowering places for some. But I question whether universities are the most important places for governments to invest money. Perhaps this may seem obvious to readers who are not currently attending university. But being surrounded by students protesting tuition increases, it often seems a basic premise of their argument is that keeping tuitions low should be one of the primary purposes of government.
And maybe it should be… what do you think? I am not sure, personally. I mean, what are universities? What would have my life been without them? I guess it is impossible to know. It seems like the best thing I got from my university education are friendships from those early years. Would I have had the same friendships had I become an actor or painter? If not, what does it mean that the cost of these friendships is going up?
The university is an important part of our societal infrastructure, so how much should it cost?
