A Canadian education isn't affordable?? Oh please!!

Oh come on! The Gazette published an article called "Canadian universities rank behind U.S. in affordability." Oh please! No way! Everyone knows that is an IMPOSSIBLE and RIDICULOUS notion. Really, I didn't have to respond to this as it should be an obvious piece of propaganda meant to increase tuition for students in Canada, but I responded anyway. Here's the article followed by my letter to the editor.

Canadian universities rank behind U.S. in affordability

Susan Mohammad, CanWest News Service

Published: Wednesday, March 29, 2006

OTTAWA -- Attending a public university in the United States is generally less expensive than in Canada, according to a report released Tuesday by the Educational Policy Institute.

The international non-profit organization, which conducts policy-based research on educational opportunities for students, compared four-year programs at public universities in Canada and the U.S. using six measures to judge affordability.

The factors included educational and living costs such as books and tuition, and the impact subsidies like grants and loans have measured within the context of a median family (pre-tax) income.

New Hampshire was listed as most affordable in the report, called Beyond the 49th Parallel II: The Affordability of University Education, while Nova Scotia ranked last of the 50 states and 10 provinces largely because of lower student aid and family incomes and higher tuition costs.

Alex Usher, vice-president of the Educational Policy Institute, and research associate Kim Steele wrote the report based on the latest data available from the 2002-2003 school year, and information from a similar report by Scott Swail in 2004.

"If family income, student aid and tuition are three big factors, then New Hampshire is three for three while Nova Scotia is zero for three," said Usher.

After New Hampshire, the most affordable rankings were Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. Quebec ranked first among Canadian provinces but only 30th overall, followed by Alberta and Ontario.

On average, the U.S. median household income measured 16 per cent higher than in Canada, and U.S. students received an average of $900 more in grants when converted to Canadian dollars. Both factors proved to be significant in the study.

Alberta doled out the most in Canada, averaging $2,200 per student, while Saskatchewan handed out about $1,700. Provinces such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia only gave students between $900-$1,000.

"There's a big gap between them or say Delaware or Vermont, where you're talking about $5,000 Cdn per student. That's a lot of money," said Usher, adding that loans are also harder to obtain in Canada.

Although expenses for students living away from home were included, the report does not consider American students going to school out of state, as the study looked to determine the minimum set of prices facing students.

"What's the affordability barrier versus what people choose to pay?"

The findings are not to be confused with the accessibility of education in measuring affordability. For example, Usher said Nova Scotia had among the highest university participation rate in Canada despite finishing last in North America for affordability.

He also said there is evidence from other studies that Canadian youth from low-income families are more likely to attend four-year institutions when compared to their U.S. counterparts.

Usher hopes the study will be used to expand policy discussions about affordability beyond tuition concerns taking into account grant and loan policies as well.

"I think they (student groups) will raise legitimate questions about whether or not Canadian governments can have the kinds of tuition policies without the student aid policies to match. That's a legitimate discussion to have."

Scott Courtice, executive director of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, said he wasn't surprised by the results of the study, and that it would prove valuable when discussing educational issues with the government.

He said although Ontario has made significant investments in post-secondary education, he is concerned there is no real strategy behind accessibility programs.

"It's not a surprise to us that Ontario would rank low on the affordability index. The government has committed a significant amount of money in next few years but no coherent strategy."

Courtice said many Canadians believe education costs to be higher in the U.S. because they think of private universities with high tuition costs, but aren't aware that schools such as Harvard University have large enough endowments to eliminate financial barriers for many students.

© Ottawa Citizen 2006

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MY RESPONSE

Quite simply, the article "Canadian universities rank behind U.S. in affordability" by Susan Mohammed is a farce. Anyone in full possession of their faculty of reason knows that education in the US is much more expensive than an education in Canada. Even the most expensive education in Canada couldn't compare to some of the cheapest university educations in the US. The article proclaims that an education in New Hampshire was listed as the most affordable in the report. Well, let's take a look at the University of New Hampshire, ranked #97 out of 120 national colleges by USNews.com. The average yearly cost of an undergraduate education for RESIDENTS is US$16, 810 of which US$9778 is tuition. For non-residents, the average cost is US$28,530 of which US$21,498 is tuition (http://admissions.unh.edu/tuition/unhtuition.html). At Yale, my alma mater and ranked #3 by USNews.com, current yearly tuition is estimated at US$31,460 with total cost estimated to be US$43,700 (http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/financial_aid/cost.html).

By contrast, the average yearly tuition for undergraduates at McGill University where I am a graduate student is CDN$1668 for Quebec residents and CDN$4651 for Canadians and CDN$11970 for International students. Add about CDN$1300 in each case for other costs and you can see that the average yearly cost of an education at one of Canada's best schools clearly is more affordable than the cost of an education at a mediocre US institution. However, why don't we look at the cost of an education in the "costly" Nova Scotia. At Dalhousie University, tuition is CDN$5820 for Canadian citizens and CDN$11460 for non-Canadians. Adding in room, board and other costs, Dalhousie costs Canadian undergraduates approximately CDN$14,952 per year and non-Canadians CDN$21,197 per year.

The point is that despite any debatable discrepancies in student funding, even if I receive nothing, I am much more able to pay for a quality Canadian education than any US education. That is what is notable about a Canadian education - it is a good education at a fair price. So, Nova Scotia only needs to give a student CDN$1000 for it to represent 1/5th of the tuition cost while New Hampshire needs to hand out US$2500 (for residents) to accomplish the same task. Furthermore, average salaries take into account the very rich and the very poor. In each country, how affordable is a quality US education for the poor? In Canada, while we need to improve accessibility for the lowest income earners, it is clear that the task is less daunting than it is in the US.

Propaganda - that's what I say - propaganda meant to discredit the more balanced and just society we have set up in Canada. Let's not let people discredit the good that we have done for education (and healthcare, another major target of propaganda) in Canada.

An article...and a response

I received this article as a bulletin on MySpace. It is the typical African-American empowerment spiel that I think doesn't do very much to change situations of oppression and the lack of cooperation between races in the United States. The young man who sent it to me is a young, black Mississipian living in Texas. I decided to try and change his perception of things, to give him a view of life for a black person outside the United States.

Here is the article, followed by my response:

RIDE OR DIE
-BY KALONJI JAMA CHANGA
NATIONAL CHIEF COORDINATOR POCC
FOUNDER/CHIEF COORDINATOR FTP MOVEMENT

You wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses, this is the concrete, and these are my damaged petals· -Tupac Shakur

Coup de Grace: A deathblow or shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded. A decisive finishing blow or event.

The nerve of some of these want to be intellectual -vegetarian lollipop, flip flop, dreadlock neo-Negroes who speak as if they have arrived· Talking loud and not saying anything. These chumps too deep for themselves walk the earth to and fro·as if they levitate. Adorned in African cultural garb, which usually consists of kente cloth, a head wrap, Che Guevara, Huey P., or Angela Davis T-shirt with a natural to match. The more daring want to be Revolutionary But Gangsta thug Negro steps on the scene equipped with an RBG wrist band and fatigues quoting the homies dead prez or Pac, while trying to convince the people that he's ready to bust the guns he don't have- when in reality he knows fuckin·well he won't bust a grape. P*ssy Poets posing as Revolutionaries. Agent provocateurs, pig- loving snitches, mega-millionaire pork chop preachers and other community leaches. Bill Cosby pulling concerned Negro stunts, to promote a Fat Albert movie. Wire wearing, permed head politicians misleading the people, while a pink shirt-wearing hip hop minstrel named Puff and his homosexual sidekick telling you to Vote or Die·

You voted, still going to die- Sean John and Phat Farm made millions off the T-Shirts (Vote or Die) and after the election Puff went on tour with Laura Bush. Now you are crying because Bush is still in office, to hell with Bush and Kerry. We don't care who our slave master is we want to be free. Burn the plantation. Colin Powell retires·Condoleza still whoring for George Bush and Flava Flav falls in love with a white trick. Ain't that a *****! Am I angry? You Got damn right I'm angry.

African people in America are being annihilated and left totally devastated while you have a bunch of black buffoons and lackeys operating as if it is a three-ring circus going on. We are in the middle of war, have been for quite sometime and not too many people seem to realize it. It seems as if some of our folks are lost in their own minds or should I say in the mind of the ruling class- our greedy ungrateful wicked bastard stepchildren. We Africans- the have nots, who are victims of capitalism and the white power structure work so hard and gain so little. While the colonizers, the haves do little work but control nearly all of the resources. Why am I angry? I am angry because the blood of our people has spilled all over the planet earth, and we have done nothing. I am angry because they assassinated Malcolm, Fred and Huey and we have done nothing. I am angry because they have Mumia on death row, they framed Aaron Patterson again, and they have H. Rap Brown (Imam Jamil) on 23-hour lock down along with countless other comrades who have been kidnapped and held captive behind enemy lines. Still a lot of you are doing nothing! I am angry because they will kill you and me if you continue to do nothing.

Kwame Ture stated, ·By you sitting back doing nothing- your very act of inaction means you are against your people· If you are not working towards the total liberation of our people I say you should be charged with conspiracy against your nation or Ancestral treason.

When it comes to the cold stark reality of the level of vicious terrorist assaults that have been launched on African and Colonized natives some of you have made the choice to perform blind or turn on the deaf ear. Some of you in an effort to justify your cowardice ways have even gone as far as blaming the victim and attempting to side with the terrorist. Who is the victim? The victim is the hungry, the have nots, the colonized. Who is the terrorist? The terrorist is the imperialist; capitalist, global white racist power structure along with its armed forces and police entities. The victims live a life of terror courtesy of the tormenter. Inside of the neighborhoods the terrorist works its magic with chemical and biological warfare. AIDS, crack and dope being pushed into the communities by the CIA and other military personnel. They promote population control through experimental chemicals such as norplants, pills, patches and abortions. Poisonous food pushed through ghetto Chinese Restaurants. Pale Arabs will sell you pork when they don't consume it. These community exploiters will offer you chicken with salmonella and high cholesterol, fried in month old grease.

The terrorist continues his reign of terror by distributing defective guns to the poor youth in the hood, so that when they are frustrated by their living conditions they can kill each other. Of course, if that doesn't work the police terrorist can come taser a child, beat someone to death or just gun him or her down. Business as usual, right? Hell no! We have to raise the bar. Someone has to be held accountable. We have to not only hold the oppressor and his oppressive regime accountable but also any black collaborator who supports the oppressor. Notice should be served to any organization that says they are for African and Colonized people, but do not address the needs of the black community. We have to let them know, either shit or get off the pot· It's a new day on the plantation. There is a new force, a new energy that will not go along with the okey-doke. Everywhere we go the youth are fed up, the poor is fed up. There is a rise in militancy. No more turn the other cheek. Teach the children the truth, nation build. In the immortal words of Field Marshal George Jackson I will never be counted amongst the broken men· Which side are you on?

From: Laurelle St. Laurent
Date: Mar 28, 2006 10:15 AM

Hi,

Interesting article, but I think he has it wrong or confused in some places. In fact, most African-Americans make these same incorrect assumptions.

Yes, the capitalist power structure in the United States does nothing for the black community and black americans should not support it, they should use their community power and their purchasing power and invest in a new system - a more socialist, communitarian system. These systems are not communist, they are democratic and exist in many countries - Canada, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, France, United Kingdom to name but a few.

I lived for a few years in the United States, and during my time there I noticed that African-Americans make one major incorrect assumption, that black people all over the world have shared their specific history of social struggle and racial difference. This isn't the case. In other countries, for instance Canada, black people do not face your brand of institutionalized racism and race is not the basis upon which the main social cleavages are based. Here, the placing of a black face on a postage stamp isn't a special occasion simply because race isn't the main issue. (Notice the distinct lack of race mentioned in this article and the focus of jazz great Oscar Peterson as an individual: http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/02/24/Arts/petersonstamp050224.html)

When I lived there, African-Americans assumed that I should share their views of race and society, and when I didn't they became angry. What they didn't understand was that they could build a society different from the one being built FOR them. They could live in substantial racial harmony with people of European, Arab or Asian descent. We are not at war with other races, African-Americans are being sold a story. If you investigate the history of slavery, it came along with intense propaganda to convince American people with white skin that people with black skin were inferior. This was so that they would accept slavery and not be outraged by the inhumanity of it. It is a lie, there is no difference and black and white Americans alike help perpetuate the lie they were told so many years ago.

I strongly believe that African-Americans should invest their money not in oversized clothes, running shoes and drugs, but in travel. They should focus on teaching each other to make up for the lackluster public school system in the States and then apply to foreign universities where the tuition is cheaper but where the cultural and social education is more broad. In other countries, black people have a vast experience with diverse interests. My parents are from St. Vincent where our family has formed government. In my history there are politicians and chemists and musicians and people whose names are now prefaced by "Sir". And don't buy all the propaganda you see about places like Haiti or many African countries. Yes, there are problems caused by the lingering effects of colonialism. However, the cameras often miss the hordes of highly educated, bilingual and trilingual, well-travelled professionals living in luxurious homes. I think it's important for African-Americans to see that. My black friends (who come from many different countries) pretty much all have strong bachelor's degrees and many have master's degrees. The emphasis for black people outside the US is put on education. And oh, on the musical front black people outside the US aren't pressured as much into liking certain types of music or movies. My own circle of close friends and rock music lovers consists of me, a Bajan, a Haitian, a Lebanese person, an Irish person, a Bengali, a Pole and a Serb, for example. We come together over common interests and share in each others different cultures. It makes us more well-rounded, worldly people who are less apt to succumb to the lies told by people who have a strong interest in maintaining the current economic and social power structure. African-American people are missing out when it comes to truly experiencing the world. Fight it, don't believe the lies that they tell you.

Just thought I'd share those thoughts and experiences with you.

Laurelle