In this divisive political climate, it would be difficult to argue that the approximately 20,000 students who attend Ohio University have something in common. Add in the nearly 200,000 Ohio University alumni and the task seems nearly impossible.
Yet we do have one thing in common: benefiting from public education. Public education is essential to the effective functioning of a democracy and it faces grave risks if Betsy DeVos becomes our next Secretary of Education.
DeVos has a long history of promoting the privatization of public education. Most of DeVos’ work has been at the K-12 level, including chairing The American Federation for Children, a pro-voucher advocacy group. Pro-voucher organizations sell vouchers as “school choice,” particularly for low-income students seeking to escape poor public schools. The reality, however, is that vouchers exacerbate poverty in low-income communities by diverting dollars to private entities not required to accept all students (unlike their public school counterparts).
Less is known about DeVos’ higher education record, but she is affiliated with groups that advocate on behalf of the for-profit university industry. For-profit colleges too often function as the payday lending businesses of the higher education world, selling themselves as “last chance” operations, then saddling students with huge debt. Due to the poor quality of education offered by these institutions, the students who manage to graduate frequently fail to find gainful employment, resulting in an inability to pay back their loans. Graduates of for-profit institutions make up 50 percent of borrowers yet account for 70 percent of the defaults on federal loans, according to a 2015 Brookings Institution report.
We need a Secretary of Education who understands the benefits of a
Those of us who currently attend or graduated from Ohio University know the fruits of public education. Though today’s students pay more than I did, they still benefit from state and federal support that keeps tuition lower than it would be at a private or for-profit institution. It is incumbent upon us to protect this legacy for future Bobcats. One effective, practical, and easy action we can take is to contact Senator Rob Portman and urge him to vote no on Betsy DeVos’ confirmation. You can call the office directly (614-469-6774) or write to him.
You can say or write something like: “I’m a constituent attending/having attended a public school in Ohio. I’m contacting Senator Portman to voice my concern about DeVos’ record of privatizing public education. I urge him to vote no on her confirmation.” This is a simple and important act we can take together as a Bobcat Family.
Laura Harrison is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Ohio and is part of UpGrade Ohio and the Athens City Environment and Sustainability Commission.
