TO THE EDITOR:
“Kenan-Flagler’s proposed fee sets a bad precedent,” argues that the proposal of a $3,000 fee for undergraduate majors of business contradicts the University values of affordability and equity and would set a precedent for other programs to charge fees based on their “perceived worth.”
Those in favor of the fees claim their justification as business students feel they get more out of being in the Kenan-Flagler school as opposed to merely being a UNC student. The article ends with a call to take a stand through letters to the editor, which is precisely what I am doing here.
While I firmly agree with the article’s main point, what it didn’t emphasize enough, and certainly should, is the lasting effect it would have on the education system. By increasing the costs of a major, UNC is saying that one major has higher worth than others. Majors should not be compared based on future earnings and surely shouldn’t have a price on them.
Not only does this defeat equality as some students wouldn’t be able to afford their choice major, but it defeats a liberal education.
College is a chance for educational exploration, but when a University (assigns a fee to) a major claiming it has higher future earnings, it’s discriminating against all other fields and making students biased in their choice of major.
It’s not the major which determines one’s earnings, it is the students themselves by how they apply themselves and their knowledge in the real world.
Peyton Burns
First-Year
