If you’re attending Prescott College, you might want to tell mom and dad that a new fee has been added to the tuition bill, one that will help establish scholarships for illegal aliens. Yep, the private college in Arizona is adding a $30 levy to pay for such a program, which will surely have conservatives in an uproar–and rightfully so (via Fox News):
Prescott College is tacking a $30 annual fee onto its $28,000 annual tuition to establish an annual scholarship for “undocumented” students, as part of a policy first proposed by students and faculty from the undergraduate and Social Justice and Human Rights Master of Arts divisions. While students can opt out of paying the fee, if they do nothing it will be automatically imposed. Backers say it helps reverse what they call Arizona’s reputation as a “national example of discriminatory politics.”“I am proud that our students take on the role of scholar activists,” said school President John Flicker, adding that the university is committed to “broaden access to higher education for a diverse group of students” and “mobilize its resources towards social justice.”
Supporters note that illegal immigrants are allowed to attend state and private colleges in Arizona, but in most cases cannot legally work or receive government grants or loans.
Making legal residents enrolled at the school pay for illegal immigrants’ education is a slap in the face to a generation already facing its post-college years saddled with enormous debt, said Andrew Kloster, legal Fellow for the Center for Legal & Judicial Studies at Heritage Foundation.
[…]
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, said poor students in the country legally should take precedence.
“It is beyond absurd that this college is going to force all the students to subsidize the education of a student who is in the country illegally,” Vaughan said. “It’s a shame these students and faculty don’t have the same drive to help some of their fellow citizens who can’t afford college and who are forced to compete with illegal workers for job opportunities.”
The program, which likely will be expanded beyond a single scholarship beginning next year, will help celebrate “Coming Out Day,” an annual event hosted by United We Dream in support of undocumented students, the school’s web site said.
It’s not a question about the amount. It’s the principle. These people have broken federal immigration laws by entering our country illegally. Moreover, the points about legal residents picking up the tab for illegals, and those funds not being used to possibly help poor American students gain access to higher education, are valid. Yet, this is a private institution. They can permit this sort of nonsense, unless there’s a revolt with the alumni or an outcry with the board of trustees. Yet, I doubt it. The school already offers illegals merit-based and need-based financial aid, according to Phoenix New Times. It's just one of those progressive realities we have to face on college campuses; that and chalk sending kids into a frenzy.