The Gadhafi era draws to a close. U.C. fees surpass state funding. Do unions still kick ass for the working class? Stanford prison experiment 40 years later.
The Gadhafi era draws to a close
This morning, news broke that rebel forces in Libya easily broke into Gadhafi’s compound after a NATO airstrike blew a gap in one of the outer walls. Security was nonexistent, as rebels were not met with any form of resistance as they took over the structure. However, Gadhafi was nowhere to be found and his whereabouts are still unknown. This comes after rebels assumed control of Tripoli this past weekend. At the rate at which these developments are progressing, we could see the end of Gadhafi’s tyrannical reign at any minute. As every news station has their eyes on Tripoli’s celebrating streets, many questions about the future transitional government remain unanswered. What’s next for the Libyan people? Where is Gadhafi? What will need to be rebuilt due to the fighting? What roles will NATO and the United States play in the next step?
Guests:
Ambassador David Mack, Scholar with the Middle East Institute; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs (1990-1993); US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1986-1989); US diplomatic assignments included Iraq, Jordan, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Libya, and Tunisia
Mansour El-Kikhia, chairman of the department of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio; fled Libya in 1980; author of "Libya's Qaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction.”
Fred Abrahams, special advisor for Human Rights Watch's program office
UC fees surpass state funding for 1st time
For the first time in its 142-year history, the University of California will receive more money from student tuition then it does from state funding.
What was once substantially paid for by the general public in California is being increasingly shifted to individual students and their parents, who will now bear the brunt of the costs for a higher education – $14,000 annually for undergraduate students, to be exact.
Daniel Simmons, who represents faculty at the UC Board of Regents, said that this trend of increasing tuition will most likely continue.
“It’s hard to anticipate anything in the near to mid-term future other than state contributions to higher educations in California being reduced,” Simmons said on KPCC's "AirTalk" Tuesday.
Although the increasing cost of a public education may come as a shock to Californians, the University of California is still an incredible deal for the quality of education students receive, said Jeff Selingo, editor of "The Chronicle for Higher Education."
“The state of California is still much more in the business of higher education than many other states when it comes to their universities,” Selingo said. “If people in other states were hearing this they would say people in California are very lucky."
Many students don't feel so lucky. Matthew from Long Beach is a student at UCLA, and told "AirTalk" that higher tuition means many students must work multiple jobs to keep financially afloat.
This extra burden isn't necessarily a bad thing, said Alex from Pasadena, as it taught him better time management when he was in school. "I worked three jobs in undergrad and it made me a better man overall in life and a better student," Alex said on "AirTalk."
Many believe California should delegate budget cuts differently, and cut funds from sectors other than education, like prisons. "We spend more money on the prison system then we do on education," John from Orange said on "AirTalk." "I think we need to reverse that."
Although many agree that higher education is fundamental to a successful economy and that the state should earmark more money for schools, the reality is that many other sectors can't be charged, Selingo said.
Tuition can be changed, but the government can't charge prisoners for their costly stays in jail or force K-12 students to pay for their own schooling, according to Selingo. Higher education is a "private good" and receiving a bachelor's degree will pay off for the student in the long run, Selingo said.
In an attempt to maintain enrollment of low-income students, UC is still maintaining an active financial aid program, Simmons said. "About one-third of tuition increases goes back into the financial aid program."
Such hefty year-over-year student fee increases were not part of the original design of the public university system in this country. Now-UC President Mark Yudof wrote in 2002, "More than a century ago, state governments and public research universities developed an extraordinary compact. In return for financial support from taxpayers, universities agreed to keep tuition low and provide access for students from a broad range of economic backgrounds, train graduate and professional students, promote arts and culture, help solve problems in the community, and perform groundbreaking research."
Guests:
Jeff Selingo, Editor, “The Chronicle of Higher Education”
Claudia Magana, President, University of California Student Association
Daniel Simmons, Chair, System-Wide Academic Senate, University of California; Professor of Law, UC Davis; Represents Faculty at the UC the Board of Regents
Do unions still kick ass for the working class?
After months of stalled contract talks, Southland grocery workers are considering whether to go on strike. Over the weekend, union workers from Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons voted overwhelmingly to reject a health benefits proposal from the supermarkets and to authorize a strike, which could be called this week if there are no positive developments between the two sides. This and other labor disputes in the news lately beg the question – how necessary are unions? In America today, union membership has declined significantly. In the private sector, only 7 percent of employees are now unionized, down from 35 percent in the 1950s. In Wisconsin and Ohio, public unions have been under attack. Critics charge that they are largely to blame for spiraling costs that hold taxpayers hostage. But during the bright dawn of modern unionism, collective bargaining rights were considered essential for protecting workers’ rights. So why has there been such a steady drop in union membership? Are unions still essential – or even effective? Or do employers and the government do enough to protect us? If not, where’s the union man with the union plan?
Guests:
Harold Meyerson, Editor-at-Large of The American Prospect; Columnist for the Washington Post
Lee Ohanian, Professor of Economics at UCLA; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Stanford prison experiment 40 years later
“Male college students needed for psychological study of prison life. $15 per day for 1-2 weeks.” Led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo, the Stanford Prison Experiment lasted less than a week, but has lived on as one of the most notorious research projects ever carried out by the University. 24 young men were randomly assigned to be either prisoners or guards in a makeshift prison in the basement of Stanford’s Jordan Hall. Within a few days, the “prisoners” were enduring emotionally crippling abuse and humiliation at the hands of their “guards” – sleep deprivation, being stripped naked, taunted and marched in line with bags over their hands, their ankles shackled. One prisoner simulated madness in order to be released; another staged a very real hunger strike and was thrown into solitary confinement. As the experiment descended into chaos, Zimbardo found himself taking on the role of prison warden – blurring his own role as a researcher. After six days the experiment was ended, and its legacy has been controversial. Was it a revealing – if flawed – study on the nature of good and evil? Were its findings prescient of later abuses at prisons such as Abu Ghraib? What social, physical and environmental circumstances lead otherwise good people to treat others inhumanely? And how far should researchers go to find out?
Guests:
Richard Yacco, Former “prisoner” in the Stanford Prison Experiment
Dave Eshleman, former “prison guard” in the Stanford Prison Experiment