Comment on a colleague’s work

    I really enjoyed my colleague's work entitled "Plastic Shopping Bags Should be banned in Texas". Raj really was able to convince and persuade me that plastic bags should be banned in the state of Texas. He gave great environmental reasons and economic reasons for this ban and has swayed me from a position of who cares to a position of we should care. The only way I believe he could strengthen his argument is providing specific real world examples that support his broad statements.
    He was able to educate the reader on all the harmful aspects of plastic bags in our immediate environment. His statements are powerful and to the point evoking a tone of danger felt by the reader. His statements are also logical and he had a conclusion that summed up all his main points. All and all a great commentary piece that I enjoyed to read, great job Raj!    

Re-Regulate College Tuition

The topic of regulation of college tuition does not merely concern price of college, but one that concerns equal representation and fairness to predominantly minority students who posses the drive for higher education without the means for paying for it. The decade of “deregulated” tuition brought to you by a narrow legislative decision has given Texas’ top universities a new predominantly affluent student body. Tuition has doubled at schools like UT- Austin and Texas a&m. This leap in tuition will result in unequal representation of those that come from families that make up the median family income of this state. The idea that college is a “business” is shared by representative Geanie Morrison and it's this kind of thinking that has diminished the amount of opportunity given to any hard working college student. This is why the time is now for change. Students that make high grades and work hard enough in school should be rewarded and able to attend the university of their choosing without the factor of an overwhelming price of tuition to sway their decision. State senator Tommy Williams and many others has realized the grand mistake of his vote for deregulation of tuition, but action to undo this problem has still not yet taken place. I want to live in a country that gives opportunity to all not only to those that can afford it. Yet in the modern society we live in the gap between the extreme wealthy and poor continues to increase. My father has always told me knowledge is far more valuable than wealth and one could argue that someone must obtain certain level of knowledge to obtain wealth. The first step in this hypothetical process would be to have to opportunity to obtain higher levels of knowledge. Our governor Greg Abbott has stated his goal of elevating our colleges to a top tier nationwide level. I believe in order to do this to Texas lawmakers must pass the right laws to give more of an opportunity to all Texas students that are willing to capitalize on it. Steps are being taken in the correct place such as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calling deregulation of tuition a “failure”. “Economic prosperity and quality education for our children are inexorably linked”-Jon Huntsman,Jr.