The skyrocketing cost of college

UC Davis Mga Kapatid's Pilipino Culture Night 2014

When I attended UC Davis in 1985, tuition PLUS room and board was approximately $3500 annually. Consequently, I was able to put myself through college.

Today, I would have to sell our house, sell redundant organs, and still have to worry about how to pay for the other 3 years.

For the 2016-2017 school year, the undergraduate cost of attendance at UC Davis (which includes California resident tuition/fees, books & supplies, room & board on campus, personal expenses, and transportation) would be $32,675.  If you add the cost of health insurance, the total becomes $35,003!

Watch the trailer for "Ivory Tower" (2014 film)

Ivory Tower is a 2014 American documentary film written, directed and produced by Andrew Rossi. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.

The film questions the value of higher education in an era when the price of college has increased more than any other service in the United States. It explores the different types of higher education around the nation. These include: community colleges, four year universities, vocational schools, online courses, and less traditional forms of education. The film argues that the high cost of tuition is at a breaking point.

The term ivory tower is used as a symbol for noble purity. It originated in the Biblical Song of Solomon (7:4) and was later used as an epithet for Mary. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an environment of intellectual pursuit disconnected from the practical concerns of everyday life. In American English usage, it is also used as shorthand for academia or the university, particularly departments of the humanities and the social sciences.