As the state of Michigan’s economy continues to sink, more and more public universities are pushing to be privatized.

The University of Michigan is one such school, contemplating making future students pay the difference that the state can no longer pay. The idea of working-class kids getting a world-renowned education is continuously fading away, and this is just another punch to the dream.

How much would privatizing the school affect things?

According to a Time article published yesterday, a student pays roughly $11 thousand to attend U-M versus paying $33 thousand or higher at private colleges such as Hope or Kalamazoo.

The price to get an education at a private school is the same price out-of-state students pay to attend U-M.

College is already too expensive. Everyday I hear from faculty members that they are far too underpaid.

Students play the guessing game every semester, wondering if the ridiculous number of loans they took out are enough for this semester’s tuition.

Recent graduates are having a hard time finding jobs and it doesn’t look like it will improve any time soon.

If college is so important, why does it seem like no one’s winning? And where is this mountain of money going that students keep borrowing?

The irony in all of this is that it’s the University of Michigan. Will it continue to be Michigan’s premier University if Michigan’s general population cannot afford to attend it?

I can understand the appeal to privatizing a school. But public universities, like U-M, are respected for being Ivy League-quality schools that someone could in theory pay for on their own. I’m sure the school will continue to provide scholarships to a lucky few, but why bother going when it will take the rest of your life to pay it back?

The biggest concern I have with major universities going private is the prospect that other universities will soon follow suit. It may be a stretch to think of Central Michigan University as a private school, but why not?

We’re facing financial issues of our own and privatizing education would help out immensely. And if anyone complained, we could just point to all the other universities who privatized before us.

U-M and any other public university will hopefully reconsider before going private. I plea for them to consider the future students who could have changed the world with such a prestigious education but lack the necessary funds.

But it simply seems the affordable college is becoming more and more elusive.

E-mail the author: Will Axford