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The Daily Tar Heel

Students will suffer if tuition increase is not repealed

	Gabriella Kostrzewa is a senior journalism and political science major from Raleigh.

Gabriella Kostrzewa is a senior journalism and political science major from Raleigh.

As a Tar Heel born and bred, I cannot fathom any better place to have called home these past four years. Unfortunately, with the looming rise of out-of-state tuition, the Carolina I have come to love may not remain the same.

Last summer, the N.C. General Assembly voted to raise out-of-state tuition by 12.3 percent for most UNC-system schools, which works out to an additional $3,469 per student. The only way for this increase to not go into effect is for the General Assembly to repeal its decision, as the tuition increase has been made a part of the state budget.

According to Chancellor Carol Folt, UNC-CH may lose about 10 percent of its out-of-state applications and even more potential students may not enroll once they are accepted.
If the out-of-state tuition were this high four years ago, I can say with certainty that many of the people who have shaped my time here at Carolina would not have had that opportunity.

The UNC system has been tasked with educating North Carolinians. As a result, the future of this state and its success heavily rely on its institutions.

One element that enables UNC-system graduates from N.C. to have an even greater impact on the state is their interaction with out-of-state and international students. With greater diversity, there is a greater exchange of ideas and culture. All in-state students have been enriched with greater knowledge from experiences and conversations with out-of-state students.

There are some who argue that out-of-state students should continue to bear the burden of tuition increases because first and foremost it is the role of the UNC system to educate North Carolinians. Secondly, out-of-state students and their families do not regularly contribute to the tax revenue of the state.

While this logic makes sense to some, it is not what will be best for North Carolinians in the long run. Many out-of-state students live in North Carolina after they graduate. This attracts businesses and leads to a greater economic impact on our state.

This is why all UNC students, regardless of whether they are in-state or out-of-state, need to join the UNC-system Board of Governors and chancellors to pressure the N.C. General Assembly to repeal its decision regarding out-of-state tuition.

In the end, it is not an issue that impacts just out-of-state students. It is something that has the potential to impact all of us.

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