18 November 2011, 6:10 pm
Many Californians worry that they are being priced out of the state's public university systems, and they object to allowing illegal immigrants the same financial aid that U.S. citizens can receive at the campuses, a new poll has found. Fifty-five percent of the voters questioned said they oppose a new state law known as the California DREAM Act. It will permit undocumented students who graduated from California high schools and meet other requirements to receive taxpayer aid to attend the University of California, Cal State and community colleges starting in 2013. Forty percent support it. But there is a huge ethnic divide on the issue, according to the USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times survey: 79% of Latinos approve of the law, while only 30% of whites do. "There are not a lot of other issues on which there are such huge differences," said Manuel Pastor, a USC professor of American studies and ethnicity. Partly, he said, it's easier for many Latinos, because they may know more undocumented people, to "understand the potential of someone who lacks papers but can really contribute to America." But there are pocketbook factors too, especially in rough economic times, said Pastor, director of USC's Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. The poll shows that more Latinos than whites feel they may be unable to afford a university education; they may be more likely to support aid for all needy students, he said. The bipartisan survey found that a narrow majority of registered Democrats, 53%, support the new policy, which was signed into law last month by a fellow Democrat, Gov. Jerry Brown. But only 23% of Republicans do. "I don't think illegal aliens should have any benefits in this country," said respondent Lois Hartman, 64, a Republican who is a retired database supervisor from Downey. As for arguments that many students were brought to the U.S. as babies and had no choice about where they were raised, she said, "Their parents should have thought about that. I don't have any sympathy for them." http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-poll-higher-ed-20111119,0,4108035.story The state's nonpartisan budget analyst on Wednesday said California will fall $3.7 billion short this fiscal year, likely resulting in fewer public school days, cuts to libraries and further reductions in developmentally disabled services. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers counted on that money – to be generated by projected tax revenues – in a fit of summer optimism when they drafted the state budget. But Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor now predicts California will land 4 percent shy of the $88.5 billion in revenues they banked on in their plan. Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/17/4060870/grim-california-budget-forecast.html#ixzz1e759ngXe... Read More »
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