Higher Education

The Supreme Court on Monday opens one of its most anticipated terms, in which the justices could strike down President Obama's healthcare law, empower local police to arrest illegal immigrants, and declare an end to affirmative action in colleges and universities. The cases coming before the court "address some of the central issues facing the country," said former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger. The clashes over healthcare and immigration "are not mere lawyers' issues, but fundamental questions about how the country is governed.

For most of the 20th century, California led the nation — and the world — in the number of high school graduates who went on to college and earned degrees. Its famed public higher education system profoundly shaped the aspirations of the state's citizens and, ultimately, their views on what it meant to be a Californian. That system also attracted talent from throughout the nation and the world, and it helped build and sustain an entrepreneurial spirit that shaped new sectors of the state's economy — from microchips to biotechnology.

For the first time, the total amount that University of California students pay in tuition this year will surpass the funding the prestigious public university receives from the state. It is a historic shift for the UC system and part of a national trend that is changing the nature of public higher education. Propelled by budget crises in California and elsewhere, the burden of paying for education at a public college or university, once heavily subsidized by taxpayers, is shifting to students and their families.

It happened again this semester. A student came to my office and asked me to close the door. After going through this drill so many times before, I knew what would come next. In a process akin to "coming out of the closet," these students reveal to me their terrible secret: They are undocumented immigrants. I am a community college professor. In addition to teaching, my role includes mentoring students, helping them achieve their academic and career goals, and identifying the brightest ones to become role models, tutors and peer mentors.

A federal appeals court panel has ruled that Michigan's ban on affirmative action in higher education — similar to California's Proposition 209 — is unconstitutional. The court's heart is in the right place, but its legal analysis may seem too inventive to the full appeals court or the Supreme Court. In a case involving Michigan's universities, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the ban, contained in a constitutional amendment, as a violation of the Constitution's equal protection clause.

California State University is proposing to pay the new president of its San Diego campus $100,000 more annually than his predecessor, a move that is raising hackles as the university grapples with another round of student tuition hikes amid deep state funding cuts. If the plan is approved Tuesday by the Board of Trustees, San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman would receive annual compensation of $400,000 — $350,000 from the state and an annual supplement of $50,000 from the campus' nonprofit foundation.

Sign of the times? Re "Is it having a meltdown?," June 29 "Chain Reaction," the late Paul Conrad's unique and creative 26-foot tall nuclear mushroom cloud sculpture in Santa Monica's Civic Center, is not melting down or falling apart. Yes, it likely needs reinforcement and strengthening, but that can also be said for the anti-nuclear movement in general. Maybe the "Chain Reaction" sculpture issue is both an artistic and political sign that is calling us to take timely strengthening action.

Reporting from Sacramento -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed California's second on-time, balanced budget in a decade — one that will sharply curb the services the state offers and that relies on a windfall of revenue. Unlike his predecessor, Brown used his line-item veto power relatively sparingly, dashing $270 million in spending, mostly from railway projects. He also reduced money for state commissions on higher education and women, eliminated funding for a data system to track teacher performance and further trimmed court spending.

Two years ago, Emma Watson was facing a quandary many young adults encounter: Is college worth it? For most 18-year-olds, a university degree is an expensive but necessary investment leading to personal growth and a well-paying job. But for Watson, already a multimillionaire as a result of playing Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" movies, the calculus was more complex. Should she trade red carpets for Red Bull-fueled nights studying? Would the knowledge gained be as valuable as the roles she'd have to forgo?