Orson Aguilar: Doors of opportunity slamming shut in UC system

Santa Cruz Sentinel
Orson Aguilar

The University of California’s home page proudly declares, “The 10 campuses of the University of California open their doors to all who work hard and dream big.” Not anymore.

The doors of opportunity being slammed shut at UC will hurt all of California, but low-income communities will be damaged the most. I grew up in one of those communities, the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, and owe much of what I’ve achieved in life to my UC education. Now, thousands of qualified kids won’t get that chance.

In a community plagued by poverty, drugs, gangs and violence, I stayed out of most of it — until I did something stupid one night when I was 19. A friend and I were attacked by another group of teens, and I fired a single shot, dispersing the crowd but striking one of the assailants in the forearm. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.

I was charged with a felony. Friends urged me to fight it on grounds of self-defense, but I chose to take responsibility for my action and pleaded guilty. With the help of numerous friends and mentors, a compassionate judge and a work-furlough program, I was able to begin getting my life in order, receive parole and continue my education at UC Santa Cruz.

At UCSC, I received enormous help from mentors whose support made it possible for me to get through an incredibly difficult time in my life. I graduated with a degree in psychology, doing well enough that I was accepted into a highly competitive.

Public Policy and International Affairs program at the University of Texas, Austin.

With the help of a full scholarship, I received a Masters in Public Affairs. I’ve worked with nearly a dozen nonprofit organizations, mentored at-risk youth, built affordable housing, organized low-income families and worked to remedy the economic situations that lead to youth violence.

All of this was possible because back then, UC’s doors truly were open to all who worked hard and dreamed big. Now, as UC Director of Admissions Susan Wilbur put it recently, “new enrollment must be carefully managed” due to budget cuts.

Translation: Only downsized dreams will now be available — to 1,500 fewer incoming freshmen. For the first time ever, most UC campuses will have waiting lists — kids who qualify, but who will be forced to wait and hope that a slot opens up.

“It is impossible to know how many applicants ultimately will be admitted off the waitlist,” Wilbur said, but the recent track record of such lists at the California State University system is discouraging. Last year, according to the Los Angeles Times, San Diego State offered places on its waiting list to 5,564 freshmen and 1,368 chose to stay on the list. Precisely zero were eventually offered admission.

And even for those who manage to get in, skyrocketing costs create another obstacle. When I attended UCSC, fees were low enough that many families of modest means could manage them with a bit of financial aid. Now, for the first time ever, undergraduate tuition for the 2010-11 academic year will soar well past $10,000 per year, roughly triple what it cost as recently as 2001.

Add in expenses for housing, books, etc., and the cost of a four-year UC education will be well over $100,000 — simply unattainable for many, and forcing others to graduate carrying a mountain of student-loan debt. Modest increases planned for student financial aid will help some, but not nearly enough.

Up and down California, doors of opportunity are being slammed shut in the faces of kids from places like my old neighborhood.

Welcome to California, the land of downsized dreams. We must do better than this.