Tuition Equity Hearing Lacks Diversity

Waking up at the crack of dawn for 8am classes has never been my forte. However, on the morning of the public hearing for the "Tuition Equity" bill, I was out of bed before the first verse of my alarm had even run its course. An hour later I was cruising down I-5 toward the Oregon State Capitol. Upon arrival, I noticed I was not the only student who would be present. Two large charter buses had pulled up and were offloading dozens of Hispanic students. Each bus sported a custom paint job and was adorned with worn out tried and true phrases of the left: "students for equality," "social justice now," "humans aren't illegal." Thirty minutes later the majority of these students and their teachers glared at me, jaws-dropped, as I returned back to my seat following my testimony.

I came to the capitol to testify against Oregon House Bill 2787, better known as "Tuition Equity." This bill proposes in-state tuition for illegal aliens, but fails to extend the same benefit to out-of-state American students. It is, in my opinion, anything but equitable. With my testimony, I hoped to make some rational Oregonians realize this was just another effort on behalf of government officials to work against the people they are elected to serve and instead give comfort and aid to undocumented immigrants.

I was the ONLY student, out of the 100+ in attendance, who testified in opposition to this bill.

The first half hour of the hearing was monopolized by the panel of state representatives publicly addressing one another as they glorified the bill. This obviated the purpose of a hearing for the public. It quickly became apparent how skewed the hearing would be after a panel in which only three of us would testify in opposition. The 80 minutes that ensued was spent listening to carefully orchestrated and emotionally-appealing testimonials by supporters who clearly left their logic at the door. One Latino student even wore her graduation gown, hoping it would somehow convey her said crushed aspirations upon graduating high school since she would be unable to afford college. In the hearing's last five minutes, the representatives obligatorily rushed an opportunity for three Oregon taxpayers to voice their disdain. How virtuous of them.

At the end of the day, I was thankful for the opportunity to denounce this bill. The irony of the hearing though, is what will voraciously eat away at me over the next few weeks. How could these representatives, who titled the legislation "Tuition Equity" themselves, have staged a public hearing that was anything but equal in the diversity of opinion?

Pardon my French, but Oregon must wake up and smell the bull; House Bill 2787 assists those in this country illegally while leaving law-abiding American citizens to pick up the tab. Now what is equitable about that?

Gabriella Morrongiello is a sophomore at Oregon State University, and chairman of the OSU Young Americans for Freedom