{news} re: Thornton video ad calls for free higher education

[ken krayeske]

Thornton for Governor
For Immediate Release
Sept. 25, 2006
For more information, contact Ken Krayeske, 860-995-5842

*Thornton video ad calls for free higher education*

*Online at http://votethornton.com/pages/video.html *

/Hartford/ - Green Party gubernatorial candidate Cliff Thornton is 
calling for free higher education in Connecticut, paid for by lottery 
and casino revenues, a day before the University of Connecticut Board of 
Trustees will meet to consider the budget for the 2008-2009 school years.

"The UConn board will raise tuition again, like it has every year during 
the past decade," Thornton said. "The skyrocketing costs of tuition and 
fees make college unaffordable for many deserving students. By allowing 
this to happen, the Democrats and the Republicans in state government 
threaten Connecticut's economic viability."

In June, UConn's Board of Trustees increased in-state tuition 6.5 
percent for 2007. According to a recent story in the student-run UConn 
Free Press, that raise brings "the total cumulative tuition hike since 
1990 to 316 percent for in-state students and 264 percent for 
out-of-state students. Increases in financial aid, which are 
increasingly merit-based rather than need-based, have not been 
sufficient to alleviate the burden imposed upon families, particularly 
those that struggle financially."

What's even worse, Thornton noted, was that the The National Center for 
Public Policy and Higher Education gave UConn and an "F" for 
affordability. The Free Press reported that Governor Rell called it a 
distinction "we can live without." Democrats, on the other hand, offer 
solutions like 529 savings accounts, which only work for people who have 
money to save.

"We need to apply the lessons of /Brown v Board of Ed/ and /Sheff v 
O'Neill/ to higher education, and make college available to all people," 
Thornton said.

The National Center for Public Policy's report card is available online:
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/reports/stateprofilenet.cfm?myyear=2006&stateName=Connecticut

The Report Card indicates that because of those rising tuition rates, 
college enrollment among Connecticut's graduating seniors has declined 
in the past decade. Those outrageous costs put college out of reach for 
the children of low income people, and for those struggling to stay in 
the middle class, the dream of college becomes a nightmare of debt.

"It is not a coincidence, then, that young people move out of 
Connecticut at the second highest rate in the country," Thornton said. 
"The solution is free higher education. It will create more jobs and 
more opportunities for people. Education is a human right."

Anyone with graduating high school with a 2.0 should be eligible for 
free community college, and anyone graduating high school with a 3.0 
should be eligible for free four-year college, Thornton said. This would 
require a massive investment in our educational infrastructure, but, 
"Our future is worth it," Thornton said.

The ad, filmed on the campus at the University of Connecticut Law 
School, states, “We Nutmeggers would be lucky if by 2008 Connecticut had 
the same number of jobs it had in 1998. Yet Connecticut businesses 
complain that they don’t have enough skilled workers. As governor, I 
would use lottery and casino revenue to fund free tuition at our public 
universities and colleges for our young people. Upon graduation, let’s 
ask them to stay for more four years.”

By making post-graduation residency a requirement for free tuition, 
Thornton said that Connecticut can keep the vitality and energy of its 
youth here, and make the state a more exciting place to live.

Thornton said he hopes to use the online video not only as an organizing 
tool for students and parents, but as a way to raise money to buy 
airtime for it.


For more information, contact campaign director Ken Krayeske at 
860-995-5842 or ken at votethornton.com

-- 



Peace,

Ken Krayeske

Campaign Director

Thornton for Governor

P.O. Box 1971

Manchester, CT 06045


860-995-5842



*This message is paid for and approved by Thornton for Governor, Max 
Wentworth, Treasurer*