The cost of going to college in Colorado
I am a sophomore at Northglenn High School, and I am writing to express my concerns regarding the cost of college tuition. College tuition is getting too expensive. I don’t want to graduate with $20,000 in student loans.
An Aug. 20 editorial in The Denver Post (“No college kid left behind”) explained that college rates are rising faster than average income is. I come from a middle- class family, and my parents are not able to save money to pay for my siblings and me to go to college. I believe people need to be educated, but people cannot become educated if they can’t afford it.
While I appreciate my middle- class upbringing, I don’t believe I should be excluded from federal grants. After filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, my parents were told their portion of expenses for my older brother would be $20,000.
In addition, I am discouraged with the lack of state funding for people who want to go to school in Colorado if they live here. The most economical way for me to go to school is to live at home and attend a community college, receive my associate’s degree and then transfer to an in-state, four- year university. Most people think I am going to community college because my grades are bad, but it’s only because I cannot afford to attend a university for all four years. Colorado ranks 48th in the nation for state funds per capita for higher education. This is a travesty for a state that I am proud to live in and want to obtain my schooling in.
I believe Colorado should invest in its future by keeping hard-working and intelligent students going to school in-state.
Brandon Andrews, Westminster
Effects of immigration policy are showing
The punitive immigration laws recently passed by Colorado’s state legislature and the ones supported by the hard-liners in Congress, led by Rep. Tom Tancredo, are beginning to have an impact on not only Colorado’s economy, but the nation’s economic outlook as well. The Roaring Fork Valley now finds itself struggling to find labor to keep business rolling along because immigrant laborers are afraid. Construction companies are turning down multimillion-dollar contracts due to decisions based on fear of having their employees rounded up. According to local car dealers and auto repair shops, the local automotive market is suffering because people can’t drive or purchase vehicles due to new requirements to prove citizenship, reducing repairs, and the domino effect is hurting businesses that depend on vehicles. A recent roundup in Stillmore, Ga., brought the local economy to a standstill, hurting factories, landlords and marketplaces. Tancredo’s concept of turning off the immigrant magnet is beginning to do just that, and in light of projections of a recession next year, we have to wonder what kind of future we are facing while this anti-immigrant madness continues. How far are we going to allow this trend to continue before the so-called magnet melts down to hurt us all?
Juan B. Botero, Littleton
…
I’m against all immigration, legal and illegal, not because I hate anyone but because I prefer logic over emotion. The arguments for immigration are all emotional. I’ve studied population science as a hobby for the last 50 years and I know the world and the U.S. are overpopulated. For decades, population scientists have predicted almost every problem society faces today. Among the many predictions: Extremists will become extremely common; mass economic migration will occur; exotic diseases will threaten world health; and all resources will diminish.
If there were a 10-year halt to all immigration, then we could assess how many people we want and need and adjust our behavior. As Americans, we can do anything. We can stop immigration, we can educate our children for the future and we can convince Americans to do our dirty and dangerous work. Defeatism is un-American. The corporations and religions are controlling the debate now, and they are defeatists.
Our message to the world now is: You can create all the problems you want and send them here. Our message should be: Stay home and solve your own problems.
Delton Rogers, Littleton
Resolve in terror war
Re: “Still angry about lack of resolve after Sept. 11,” Sept. 12 Open Forum.
Ken Maynard got it right in his letter to the editor. Indeed, we do have reason to be angry. If liberals were serious about the war on terror, they wouldn’t be calling for a cut-and-run policy in Iraq. Neither would they be defending terrorist suspects and calling for an end to the National Security Agency foreign surveillance program. Such tactics would hardly have been tolerated in World War II, when the country was united against the Japanese and Nazis. Maynard has a right to be angry, and so do the rest of us who served our nation in time of war.
Brian Stuckey, Denver
Defending fed workers
I was deeply offended by Bruce Tinsley’s Mallard Fillmore cartoon of Sept. 14 implying that all federal employees are pigs. Yes, I was a federal employee, and I’m also a Vietnam War veteran. My fellow federal employees include drug enforcement agents, border patrol agents, homeland security workers, all members of our armed services, war veterans, and the doctors and nurses who treat the wounded coming home from Iraq. Federal employees could include all Republican congressmen as well as President Bush himself. Honestly, Mr. Tinsley, are we all pigs?
Thomas E. Glatzel, Fort Collins
Uninsured daredevils
Re: “Thin ice for young daredevils,” Sept. 4 news story.
I am a typical 25-year-old runner, climber and skier, and up until six months ago I was uninsured. Due to the persistent encouragement of an older brother, I signed up for health insurance. Nine days after my insurance was in place, I was in a life-altering car accident. I fell asleep driving up U.S. 36 and rolled my car down a ravine 75 feet. I broke my femur in five places, broke my nose, sprained my ankles and had many bumps and bruises. Without my health insurance, my injuries would have been much deeper than physical. I am still recovering and will in a few months be 100 percent healed. God forbid that something so horrible happens to any other young adults, but life is uncertain and being prepared is critical. So, thanks to The Post for encouraging others similar to myself to take the time and get health insurance.
Erin Nickel, Estes Park
Regulations and taxes on oil and gas industry
It should be abundantly clear by now that oil and gas prices are determined strictly on a supply-and- demand basis, and that government intervention does nothing but cause prices to go higher. We cannot tax our way to lower prices, but we can reduce artificial government restrictions on domestic exploration and development to expand future supply.
The rising tide of worldwide geopolitical malaise in major oil-producing countries such as Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Chad and Nigeria in recent months has reduced the security of oil supplies around the globe, deeming it all the more important that America continue to seek new ways to satisfy our increasing oil demands. Congress needs to enact initiatives that urge our domestic oil producers to do what they know best in order to deliver new and much-needed oil and gas reserves, not to dampen their investment in our future by imposing further taxes and regulations.
Mark Raynes, Lakewood
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