SDSU Professor Oliva M. Espin’s invited me to speak to her students taking “Gay and Lesbian Identities in the Modern World.” Interestingly, many students no longer claim the gay, lesbian or straight label. Rather, they prefer not be defined by “social constructs” that put one into a box called “male” or “female” or “gay,” “straight” or “bi.”

While students are concerned with issues surrounding sexuality, student fee increases take priority these days, especially with those who are gay and do not have the support of their parents.

As a result of recent actions taken by the CSU and UC governing boards, student undergraduate and graduate fees will rise again next year by at least 10 percent. On average, the 400,000-plus students attending CSU campuses will pay $3,000 per year toward the cost of their schooling; fees for UC students will be around $7,000 per year. Couple that with $700 in monthly rent (for a room in a mini-dorm), and financing an education becomes prohibitive.

And as CSU professors go on strike next week, it’s likely that any pay increases will result in commensurate student fee increases.

All of this falls squarely on the shoulders of the most powerful man in higher education, newly elected Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, who chairs the Committee on Higher Education, a body that has major say in how UC and CSU campuses get money. Many of us have met Anthony in San Diego at events hosted by his brother, Gay & Lesbian Times publisher Michael Portantino. Anthony will hopefully convince the governor and the Legislature that this state’s higher education system is the economic engine that drives our economic success. The concept is simple: Maximize the number of people who obtain higher education, they get jobs (earn more than a third than those without college degrees) and they pay more in state income and property taxes. Public higher education is practically the only social welfare program that not only pays for itself, but is an economic stimulus.

In the ’60s, the Legislature declared that our higher education system should be accessible so that any qualified Californian could obtain an undergraduate degree regardless of financial need. Even conservatives (such as Ronald Reagan) refused to raise fees. Things changed markedly in 1982 when current Attorney General Jerry Brown left the governorship, a time when student fees were about $200 a year. Brown told me he’s appalled to see that subsequent governors and legislatures have reneged on the promise of free higher education that California guarantees to each successive generation of students.

One problem is term limits. No one is allowed to stick around long enough to develop expertise and institutional memory. When I was SDSU student president, the long-time chair of the Committee on Higher Education was John Vasconcellos. He later termed out. Vasconcellos knew higher education law and policy better than anyone in the state. Hopefully, voters will alter term limits so that someone like Portantino can spend 12 years as chair, where he can champion low student fees and GLBT academic programs. Obviously, when it comes to funding higher education, prisons, health care and social programs, there has to be some effort by the state to control spending within priorities. However, just as in business, if there is an area of the business that makes money, put resources into it.

Fund higher education so students can get through community colleges and state universities quickly without having to incur such debt that it acts as a deterrent. That also means paying faculty salaries that are comparable to other schools. It also means pressing schools like SDSU and cities like San Diego to work together as partners with private builders to build affordable single-resident housing in the college area, so that students aren’t living six and seven to a two-bedroom house and paying $800 a month. Lastly, those of us in this community with estates should consider making gifts to colleges. I suggest directing school trustees to use funds only for student scholarships, such as students who are committed to GLBT equality.