Is a University of Michigan education a fundamental human right?

I ran across this comment on an article in the Michigan Daily about a Michigan Student Assembly resolution advocating a tuition freeze:

This is a social justice
SUBMITTED BY ANONYMOUS (NOT VERIFIED) ON THU, 03/12/2009 – 3:02AM.

This is a social justice issue. higher education is a right, not a privilege. Students must stand with a unified voice in opposition to such outrageous tuition hikes year after year. Especially now, in a time of such economic turmoil, it is so important that the Michigan experience remain affordable. We cannot have qualified students being priced out of attending this University.

MVP’s presidential candidate spoke against a tuition freeze and reMICHIGAN’s candidate spoke in favor of one at the MSA meeting where this was passed. The reasons Abhishek and MVP opposed the resolution were not merely centered around the survey methodology, but rather they were opposed to a tuition hike. This clearly shows how out of touch they really are with students. One of MVP’s arguments was that increasing energy and other fixed costs force necessary tuition hikes.

The student voice is not centered around the University’s utility bills.

Another argument was that student services would get cut if we freeze tuition this year. My response: there are several sinecure offices at this University where we could trim funding allocations.

If you are opposed to a tuition freeze, please leave MSA. When there are students leaving school next semester because of their family’s inability to afford tuition, we have a major problem that needs to be addressed. That problem far surpasses the methodology of a survey, or our [supposed] concerns for the U’s electricity bill. Students are the number one priority here and we need to start standing up for ourselves.

Had I known who had written this comment, I might have been a little less snarky, but since it was posted anonymously, I felt compelled to post the following response:

Higher education certainly
SUBMITTED BY ELSON LIU (NOT VERIFIED) ON FRI, 03/13/2009 – 12:30AM.

Higher education certainly benefits the public, but it is quite a stretch to call it a right. Furthermore, a University of Michigan education most certainly is a privilege, one that University of Michigan students and alumni should consider themselves fortunate to have had. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights supports this interpretation: “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.” ( http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html ) Note that it only states that higher education shall be equally accessible to all, not that higher education should be guaranteed to all (which is the definition of a right).

Aside #1: It would be impressive but unrealistic if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly guaranteed a University of Michigan education to all.

Aside #2: “The reasons … [they] opposed the resolution were not merely centered around the survey methodology, but rather they were opposed to a tuition hike.” First, it’s presumptuous to think you know the underlying reasoning for someone else’s actions. Second, I think you meant to write that they were opposed to a tuition freeze. Finally, while I’m sure there is something out there that is more useless than a poorly-designed survey, I can’t name it offhand.

Aside #3: “Another argument was that student services would get cut if we freeze tuition this year. My response: there are several sinecure offices at this University where we could trim funding allocations.” Oh, how I wish that I had your naive optimism that important services would be preserved and sinecures would be cut. Unfortunately, we live in the real world.

Aside #4: I think policy discussions would be more productive if people would be willing to back their opinions with their real names, rather than hiding behind a pseudonym or, even worse, impersonating someone else (as was done in the comments on this article earlier today). I retract my earlier comment–I can name something more useless than a poorly-designed survey.