The cost of higher education

WASHINGTON – Somewhere in between the one-hour-and-four-minute State of the Union address, President Barack Obama spoke on the ongoing issue that surrounds students on campuses around the nation.

"When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college," Obama said. "At a time when Americans owe more in tuition than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July."

In the last 20 years, the average cost of tuition and fees at a four-year public university has increased by 136 percent, according to a statement released by the White House. In 2007, legislation enacted an interest rate reduction that will expire July 1, which would jump the rate from 3.4 percent to 6.8.

"Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars," he said. "And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years."

Although the president urged Congress to reevaluate the growing concern about the cost of college, he also pushed for states and universities to take matters into their own hands.

"We can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we'll run out of money," Obama said. "States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down."

The president gave a warning to colleges and universities that if they cannot stop the increasing cost of tuition, then funding from taxpayers will diminish.

Obama called for the resurrection of the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide undocumented immigrants who are college students and military service members the opportunity to gain citizenship.

"Let's also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge," he said. "The fact that they aren't yet American citizens."

According to the Immigration Policy Center, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, but cannot enroll in college, join the military or work. However, the DREAM Act passed the Democrat-controlled House in December of 2010, but was blocked by the Senate, killing the bill.

"Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation," Obama said. "Others came more recently, to study … but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else."

That doesn't make sense the president said. Although Obama called for resurgence in the DREAM Act, he noted that his administration has increased the size of the agents along the border, which could be attributed to the decline of undocumented immigrants crossing.

In a statement released after the State of the Union, he called for a continuation of border security at the federal level and to hold businesses accountable for hiring undocumented workers.

The president ended the segment of the speech with a push for immigration reform that would stop the expulsion of young people who want jobs in the country.

Salvador Guerrero, senior print media major at UTEP, is an intern at the Scripps Howard Foundation's Semester in Washington program. He may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.