I read an article in the Indystar today about six people, five of them illegal immigrants, who staged a protest at the governor's office, and were subsequently arrested for doing so. These people were protesting Mitch Daniels' plans to sign two bills, one of which would deny undocumented students in-state tuition fees and triple their tuition costs (HB 1402). The other bill would penalize businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants (SB 590).
It seems their protest was a last ditch effort to speak out against these bills and carried no real weight, as Daniel's spokesperson has stated he plans to sign both bills. One of the protesters claimed Daniels refused to meet with them, so they had no other option in order to let their voices be heard. Well, Mitch Daniels may not have heard their voices, but I did. And I, of course, have an opinion about it, specifically the House bill, the one that would raise undocumented students' tuition.
Let me first ask a stupid question: Don't we strongly encourage young adults to maximize their potential contributions to society by pursuing higher education? Don't we want the faces of the future to be educated, competent human beings, especially since they're the ones who are going to be taking care of us later in our lives?
If the answer to the questions above is "yes," then let me ask this more obvious question: Then why in the hell is our state government trying to pass legislation that would prevent the above from occurring??
I wonder if Daniels realizes that when people can't afford to better themselves, it's likely they probably won't. When I read about the rampant, senseless crime that occurs on a DAILY basis in our cities, my mind always wanders back to where that man or woman or teenager or child went wrong. Absentee parent(s)? Lack of education? Socioeconomical status? Mental health issues? Born a sociopath? Perhaps it's a little bit of everything. Perhaps it's only one of those reasons. You can't tell me that taking higher education off the table for young adults exemplifies our generic standard of personal success and public well-being. It doesn't. In fact, it says the complete opposite. It says that we could give a shit about a person's potential for success; we're more interested in flagging and tagging.
I realize one can't have this discussion without acknowledging the issue of illegal immigration and the role it plays in this particular debate. But right now, I'm just focused on the lunacy of HB 1402. Sure, let's tell someone to succeed and do good, but first we're going to put a forcefield in your way. Stupid, for sure.
