We need to stop framing the issue in a way where we treat the University as some arbitrary concentration of wealth. Stating that Brown can afford to pay more to the city implies that students can afford tuition hikes, which place a burden on the wrong people. On the issue of public schools in Providence sharing the city's burden, I absolutely criticize that as well. Maybe I'm being too cynical, but I find it hard to believe that we have come to the point where the city cannot balance its budget without seriously burdening both the public education system and now private universities. There are plenty of model cities — why can't Providence be one?
I acknowledge that there is a symbiotic relationship between Providence and Brown, but when addressing the Brown Democrats Tuesday, Mayor Angel Taveras justified asking for more money from the University by stating, "To whom much is given, much is expected." I believe the mayor may be overestimating exactly how much Providence gives to Brown. Brown receives a tax-exempt status and basic city services, which is the normal relationship between a private university and the government. I would argue that what Brown adds to Providence far exceeds the average relationship between private universities and cities.
Furthermore, I reject the idea that Brown cannot call itself a social justice leader in the Ivy League if we do not comply, because the amount we give to the city should not dictate our views on social justice. There are economic conservatives who believe in social justice outside the realm of government, and then there are people like me who hardly believe that taking money away from education is a form of social justice.
The function of a government ought to be to improve society by providing services that cannot be provided privately, and to do so without burdening society more than it would be without the government's help. The point where the government takes away from public and private educational institutions so that it can continue to function is the point where I question whether the government is really playing an appropriate role.
Far from an anti-government Tea Partier, I believe in a large role for the government in society, but I believe that it should value education above almost anything. Providence should ask absolutely everywhere else first, then find places where we can cut the most marginally unimportant spending and then go back around to everywhere else before taking money away from education.
