KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

It's no wonder that I truly enjoy Western Maine along the eastern side of the White Mountains…Imagine, Maine being the only New England state not on the list. Progressive Vermont?? Shocking!!!

The grossest part about this is that it's not surprising in the least.

The saddest part of this is that public financial support (% wise) of prisons is skyrocketing while support for higher ed is actually dropping.

There is a sad part of it. But I think it says more about the fact that the states don't spend on higher education than they are spending more on inmates.

Send this to your Governor, State reps, US Senators and Congressmen. Thanks for nothing.

Just to be clear, the problem is not that we are spending too much on prisons. If we are going to keep incarcerating people at the rate we do for non-violent drug "crimes," we should actually be spending more on our prison system. The point is that we do not spend NEARLY enough on higher education. And this isn't California, with its robust state college system. RI could and should provide far better support to its colleges, and its unwillingness to do so is shameful.

I feel like there is a split in the country. Go south and the states have a different relationship to the state university. They feel a connection regardless of whether they went there and they support it with $$.

New England relies heavily on private schools. Probably goes to the foundation of higher education being the ivies in the northeast and the foundation of higher education everywhere else being the state school.

Seawrightspostgame wrote:I feel like there is a split in the country. Go south and the states have a different relationship to the state university. They feel a connection regardless of whether they went there and they support it with $$.

New England relies heavily on private schools. Probably goes to the foundation of higher education being the ivies in the northeast and the foundation of higher education everywhere else being the state school.

I agree that private schools play a big part regarding attitudes toward state schools in New England. Most private schools had a big headstart on the publics here. Harvard was founded the same year as the state of RI in 1636. Brown was established in 1764. URI traces its roots to 1892. Private schools were able to firmly establish themselves in this region since they began operations some 100-250 years before most state schools. They have long educated the elites in business and politics in our region. As a result, state schools are looked down upon in New England as 2nd class. This long held attitude permeates everything involved with state schools including their funding.

RI also has the "distinction" of being a tiny state with a dwindling tax base.

And with a higher percentage of older residents who aren't very wealthy.

That's like having 2 strikes against you to start with. Of course the state legislature being pro-PC doesn't help in the slightest.

If URI's base was in Providence, and PC was in Kingston, things would be different I would think.

But it isn't.

URI is already 92% privately funded. That percentage is only going to rise. The school will sink or swim on it's own, without state help.