An article from The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)

[Joseph N. Hall]

Speaking as someone who also went to the other state school boarding
school that, at the time, *did* charge in-state tuition, I think a
free ride at NCSSM, never mind UNC, is a pretty good reward. In fact,
if it comes down to what's a "reward," attending NCSSM, period, is a
uniquely valuable reward in and of itself. I'm sure plenty of people
would fall all over themselves to pay for it if that was the cold hard
reality.

When I was at NCSA I didn't hear people complaining they weren't
getting enough free stuff. It never came up. The benefit to the
students was the community of fellow artists, unique programs, and
faculty known worldwide. The experience and education were worth it.
But frankly, we did get a lot of free stuff. When I felt like it, I
could sit in an empty auditorium listening to orchestra rehearsals.
I'm not sure where a kid can do that elsewhere in North Carolina.

When I said a few words in front of the General Assembly in 1979 (or
whenever it was), as a potential student, I didn't ask for free
tuition at NCSSM or at any other state school. Not that it was
important, but an obvious presumption was that most anyone who would
be attending NCSSM could get a free ride, on need or merit, at a
selective or very selective school upon graduation, and regardless,
the state would ensure that students could afford to attend NCSSM. (I
attended NCSA on a full tuition scholarship.)

At the time, there weren't a lot of people pointing out the irony of
providing free high school tuition to science and math students, while
a couple hours away in Winston-Salem, young artists who would face a
much more competitive academic environment upon graduation and much
lower pay afterward were forking out substantial amounts of money for
their education.

Don't make NCSSM about money. It's not about money.

As an aside, which I will freely admit is snarky, I find a 10-line
signature off-putting. I'm fine with two characters.

  -j

On 4/10/07, Douglas R. Massengill, Jr. <doug.massengill at gmail.com> wrote:
> As I have argued to the North Carolina Democratic Party State Executive
> Committee (I led the 650 member body toward defeating a resolution calling
> for the repeal of the tuition grant), the NC House Education Committee, and
> Paul Leubke himself, the grant should not be repealed for NCSSM Students.
> The grant at NCSSM should be studied as a test case of how to reward bright
> young people across the state.
>
> A lot of people don't know that Paul Leubke's son graduated from NCSSM.  As
> such Rep. Leubke knows how hard NCSSM students work and how valuable the
> students as well as the institution are to the State of North Carolina.  It
> makes me wonder if Rep. Leubke isn't having a memory lapse that is
> preventing him from seeing the benefits of this grant, not only for the
> State of North Carolina, but for his own House district.
>
> I encourage you all to ask Mr. Leubke to reconsider.
>
> Warmest Regards,
> Douglas R. Massengill, Jr. '06
> Vice-President
> North Carolina Federation of College Democrats
> North Carolina State University
> North Carolina Teaching Fellow
> Political Science Education
> Non-Profit Studies
> doug.massengill at gmail.com
> (919) 749-0492