UT-Austin Redistributes My Tuition Payment

By Elizabeth Miller on October 28, 2012

Students of the University of Texas at Austin received this email message mid-semester on October 27, 2012.

Dear Student,

The University is required by State law (Sec.  56.014, Education Code) to send this informational notice each semester.  A portion of each student’s tuition must be set aside for need-based financial assistance to qualifying students.  $362 of your Fall 2012 tuition was set aside for this purpose.

Student Accounts Receivable
The University of Texas at Austin
fbic@austin.utexas.edu

Questions that come to mind after reading this notification:

  • What could I have done if I was allowed to keep my $362?
  • Why was I not given a choice to donate this money myself?
  • What was sacrificed to earn that additional $362 for my tuition payment?
  • Why do these qualifying students deserve my $362 more than me?
  • What exactly qualifies another student to take my $362?
  • Do they even know where their need-based financial assistance comes from?
  • Will anyone ever get a “thank you” for this forced act of charity?
  • If it is forced, does it even count as charity?
  • If it’s not charity, is it just another form of taxation?

I don’t have the answers to all these questions. I just know that when I donate money, time or talents to charity, it feels good. I enjoy helping others. I often give anonymously, and I don’t seek credit or thanks. But, receiving this email did not produce any of these positive feelings. It made me feel less than charitable towards my fellow students in need. I believe the difference evolves around the desire and ability to give of my own free will.

Think about a child with two toys, standing next to another child with no toys. Grab one toy away and hand it to the other. A tantrum will undoubtedly ensue. Teach and encourage the first child the benefits of sharing. Then ask them to share one toy. Often, that child will smile, hand over one toy, and make a new friend in the process. A simplistic example, for sure, but it exemplifies the negative results of forced charity and the positive outcomes of the freedom to choose.

I don’t miss the $362 so much as the freedom denied.

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