Obama addresses students on U-M campus
President Barack Obama makes his speech at Al Glick Field House at University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Mich. as part of his five-state tour days after making his State of the Union address. Speaking in front of 3,000, Obama pushed for lowering tuition cost in higher education, focus on equality, among other issues. Justin Wan/The State News
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Ann Arbor — Citing higher education affordability as one of the most defining issues facing America, President Barack Obama announced new federal efforts to help college students pay inflating tuition costs during a speech at the University of Michigan on Friday morning.
Echoing points from his State of the Union address Tuesday, Obama called for a government push to help close the middle class wealth gap, largely by helping more students afford college degrees.
“Higher education is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford,” the president told a crowd several thousand U-M students and other visitors — some who weathered inclement conditions all night outside the university’s Glick Fieldhouse, where the speech took place.
Although he was short on specifics, Obama unveiled a college Race to the Top initiative, designed to tie additional federal funding to states based on their efforts to keep tuition costs down.
“We know that these state budget cuts have been the largest factor in tuition increases at public colleges over the past decade,” Obama said. “We’re challenging states to take responsibility as well on this issue.”
Last year, Michigan cut university funding by 15 percent, which lead MSU to increase tuition some lawmakers have claimed was as high as 9.4 percent.
While not directly calling out Michigan Republicans, Obama said states need to make “Higher education a higher priority in their budgets.”
In addition to the college Race to the Top, he announced a university “report card” program that would give students a database of information about each college, including its costs and student performance rates.
“We should push colleges to do better,” Obama said, urging universities themselves to keep costs from growing. “ We should hold them accountable if they don’t.”
The president will seek to reform federal campus-based aid to shift funding away from colleges who fail to keep tuition low, according to a statement from the White House.
“We want you to know how much a car stacks up before you buy it — we want you to know how well a college stacks up,” Obama said.
Several high-profile federal officials, including U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, attended the speech to show support for the president’s message.
“We surely can’t be cutting education,” Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said. “We’ve got to be supporting education programs at a federal level.”
The president also echoed his previous calls for Congress to extend a federal tuition tax credit set to expire in July — an event that would cause tuition interest rates to double.
But some didn’t totally embrace the president’s message.
“It was sugarcoated,” said Parisa Behzadi, a U-M senior. “He’s very well-spoken, so in that moment everything seems fantastic, but I’ll be interested to see what happens.”
Still, others are more optimistic.
“I was really happy when he talked about student loans,” said Beka Guluma, a U-M sophomore.
The Michigan stop was part of a public appearance kick following the State of the Union address, where Obama has repeated the issues to the masses and media in a more relaxed, rally-esque setting.
Obama’s speech here came as a new EPIC-MRA poll shows him holding a solid lead over GOP candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich in Michigan.
Crediting his own success to education, Obama talked of he and First Lady Michelle Obama’s own experience of paying for college, telling students he was in their shoes not so long ago.
“I’m only standing here today because scholarships and loans gave me a shot at a decent education,” Obama said.
Commentary
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alum
(01/27/12 1:38pm)Report
Heard Obama commented he needs to visit MSU in the future. How about he and his wife visit and talk at 2012/13 commencement in the Spring.
Alum
(01/27/12 4:32pm)Report
He came to MSU in 2008.
Sounds Great
(01/27/12 4:36pm)Report
I think the MSU commencement ceremony of 2013 will fit Obama’s schedule a little better.
Real World
(01/27/12 4:58pm)Report
Look for Mitt Romney to come to MSU before Obama in the near future. At MSU we believe in being the best and that means we want the next President to show up not the current guy who will lose in 2012. We’ll let U of M get the 2nd tier candidate.
michmediaperson
(01/27/12 8:21pm)Report
Listen, you MSU students aren’t dumb.
This is the same used car salesman, Obama, who told a Saginaw crowd in 2008 that he was going to give FREE college education to any students who go into K-12 teaching. Well, my friend, where’s the money???? He lied on that promise to get elected. He fooled a lot of people.
So, here comes the used car salesman again. It’s easy to fool a U-M person. That’s why all the smart people are at MSU!!
Ian got it right: “Although short on specifics” No kidding!!!
Ask yourself this:
1. The country is 16 trillion dollars in debt. Where do you think Barack Hussein Obama or the Tooth Fairy going to find billions, maybe a trillion dollars to fund this education fantasy he’s proposing.
2. I guarantee you…just like in 2008….you will NEVER see any money.
What needs to be done is cutting expenses. The U-M president makes twice as much as Obama does. That’s not right. No college president in Michigan should make more than the Governor’s pay. You’ve got to trim costs.
Obama knew better than to come to East Lansing. He fooled them in Saginaw in 2008. Today, he fooled the Michigan Wolverines. Biggest hoax job since Rich Rod told Michigan he’d win a national championship.
MaximumBob
(01/27/12 8:37pm)Report
What will the lil’ bitch promise next?
DD
(01/27/12 9:57pm)Report
Stop dreaming of free education kiddos it’s not going to happen. There is no money in the mason jar. You can confiscate all of the assets of those evil 1 percent folks and you cannot even run the government for 6 months. I never met a poor person or a bankrupt company that offered me a job. Get over the economic and social justice indoctrination you have been force fed by alcohol soaked profs and join the big boy/girl real world of life. The man has nothing to offer your generation in particular but less of everything. Less employment, less happiness, and most of all less liberty. He is selling all the crack to any audience he can rather than discuss his record and failure to lead. He has no economic plan because he has no concept of economics other than a litany of leftist diatribes he learned so well at Occidental and on the community organizer trail. The man never worked a day in the private sector and has disdain for anyone who does. Government is always the answer for the man who wants to “fundamentally transform America”. Does one not understand what that truly means after 3 years? So he can sing a little tune at the Appollo theatre for a million dollar fundraiser if that is the litmus test for today’s electorate we are doomed.
Obama '12
(01/27/12 10:47pm)Report
There are “smart” people all over the state. Obama chose to speak at U-M, twice. Not the first sitting president to speak there.
citizen2000
(01/28/12 5:40pm)Report
University of Michigan’s President Coleman just doesn’t get the message. She wrote a letter to Obama asking for more federal support. He came to Ann Arbor and said states need to invest more. Snyder said we need to link state funding to fiscal responsibility of the University Boards. President Coleman they are all telling you that you need to control spending before we give you more money. We need a Board that gets the message. Read more at www.professorkauffmanforregent.com
Horsedoc
(01/28/12 6:08pm)Report
I’m glad to see that you students can recognize when a politician is lying….his lips are moving
very sad for politics in general
B.T.
(02/05/12 3:28am)Report
Anyone paying attention knows this guy is going down in flames……all fluff and no stuff….more of the same crap that has already failed miserably. If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove that your not a racist, or to prove that your “hip” and “cool”….don’t vote for him in 2012 to prove your not an idiot.