As a young American and a passionate Democrat, I feel compelled to respond to Fred Sharp's erroneous screed "Liberalism doesn't support higher education". Sharp regurgitates talking points from the extreme right wing but never bothers to present an iota of evidence to buttress his claims.

Look at the facts: President Bush and his Republican Party allies in Congress are mortgaging our futures to pay for a failed foreign policy and reckless tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. Bush underfunds his own ill-conceived "No Child Left Behind" program by $9.7 billion, cuts federal K-12 education funding, eliminates more than 45 education programs and siphons public-education dollars into private-school vouchers.

Under former President Clinton, college attendance increased, but under Bush, higher education is more unattainable then ever. Bush cut $270 million from Pell Grants for low-income students - making 84,000 young Americans ineligible for financial aid.

He has also proposed eliminating all federal funding for work-study, Perkins Loans, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants and LEAP grants. Bush also opposes allowing college students to consolidate their student-loan payments. Bush and the GOP have not only failed Americans in general but young Americans and college students in particular.

Nathan Triplett
social relations and
political theory sophomore