An Expensive Lesson In Irony

The cost of a 4-year degree from a state college in Cali?  Price just went up ten grand.

As hundreds of students demonstrated outside, University of California leaders on Thursday voted to approve a 32% hike in undergraduate fees, arguing the increase is crucial because of the state's budget crisis.

The UC Board of Regents, meeting at UCLA, approved a two-phase increase that will boost the average undergraduate fee $2,500 by next fall. That would bring the average annual cost to about $10,300 — a threefold increase in a decade.

After a series of deep cuts in state aid, and with state government facing a nearly $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half, regents said there was no option to higher fees.

That's right, college tuition in the UC system was about $3,800 in 1999.  Now it's $10,300 in 2010.  When I was in school, going to a good state school meant you'd save big money over private universities and a student loan was affordable.  Nowadays, community college is the only choice for a lot of students.  And private school?  Well, you got 150 grand lying around?

Didn't think so.  Here's your first free lesson for prospective poly sci majors in California: screw you.