The proposal suggests increasing tuition. My rebuttal argues that there are better ways to cover costs and that the budget issue should be a community collaboration.

The proposal article states that about 10% of Community College students and 35% of University students go into debt. They seem to phrase this as a good thing, but the goal should be 0%. They are also ignoring the population of people that have given up on academia because of the cost. Additionally, Hawaii already faces crises in finance and education; Poverty rates are high, native Hawaiians move to the mainland because of high costs, and homelessness is EXTREMELY prevalent. College students often move to the mainland for higher education, and many Hawaii-born graduates permanently move away. Increasing the tuition would only further push locals away from education.

As a student at the University of Hawaii, the proposed tuition increase could crush my academic goals. I currently attend community college and don't know if I'll ever be able to attend UH Mānoa as it is. I want to get a doctorate, but now I might even have to say goodbye to a bachelor's. This proposed tuition increase would disproportionately impact students from lower-income backgrounds, WHICH IS MOST OF US. Rather than increasing tuition, the University should explore alternative funding options such as implementing cost-cutting measures that do not impact students’ academic experiences.