So the state of Iowa wants to cut more funding from education. Funny, I was always raised under the idea that Iowa had one of the greatest education systems in the nation and actually wanted to keep it that way. Guess I was lied to all those years growing up here. Guess the idea of keeping good teachers in Iowa was also a lie.I’m a future teacher myself, and a student at Iowa State, and I can easily say that if the proposed plan to cut funding to higher education in this state continues like it has for the last few years I can promise Iowa is the last place I’ll want to live and teach. How can I live in a place that doesn’t support the idea of higher education? How could I conceive of raising my children in a state where they can’t even afford to go to the colleges that are down the road from them because the state of Iowa has decided that higher education is at the top of the list for the chopping block?I understand a need for some cuts to be made. It’s an unfortunate circumstance. But why is higher education at the top of that list? Education should be towards the bottom of that list. My big question is, who isn’t getting cut? How many campaign contributors are out there not being touched by this? How many of those people out there that can actually afford to take a hit aren’t taking one and letting students, who aren’t even in the professional field with a chance to make money, footing the bill for them? How many large farms aren’t being affected by this so they can better use their money to drive out more small farmers?This is the third time that the state of Iowa has decided in the last 3 years that higher education isn’t important.If the state is not willing to lend as much support to the colleges, then maybe the colleges should stop supporting the state. What would Iowa be like if it wasn’t for the technological advances that the research done at colleges have given them? What would the agriculture-based economy of Iowa look like if the colleges weren’t developing better more sturdy techniques for farming?There has been a lot of talk about the students speaking out here at Iowa State. That they should first speak with their voices and then speak with their vote. However, I would say this is ineffective. Politicians don’t care about your vote any more than they care about what happens when you have to pick up the slack for their negligence. Statistically, college students don’t vote, so the threat rings empty. More importantly, students don’t have the money to get noticed. They don’t donate lots of money to campaigns. They don’t get noticed but by those select few politicians who represent areas that actually have large numbers of students.I don’t know what to say to try and convince the politicians to do what’s right. I guess the system refuses to be fixed, the politicians refuse to listen to the students, and the citizens of Iowa must refuse to force them to be accountable for their actions. The only option left to me is to leave Iowa in it’s downward spiral and take my teaching career to a state that respects education.Jeff Greiner

Junior

History and secondary education