Pay off Your Loans

Compare that to Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist and the legislature are determined to fleece parents and pare college budgets. Crist recently agreed to let three universities — the University of Florida, Florida State, and the University of South Florida — increase tuition by 30 or 40 percent. Then he suggested eliminating $45 million of a $55 million increase that community colleges recently received. And he proposed delaying $38 million in construction.

Florida higher ed stinks. The state is 49th in the nation in student-instructor ratio. Schools regularly rate among the best in the country for parties, not academics. Top faculty members often head to more prestigious New England addresses.

The Magic City is at the center of Charlie's budget-ax bull's-eye. Miami Dade College, which enrolls the most degree-seeking students in America, would take a big hit. And Florida International University will be nailed proportionately more than any other in the state, says Bruce Hauptli, professor of philosophy and chairman of the faculty senate. One of Crist's proposals is to whack $5.4 million slated for an FIU medical school — though it has already hired some faculty. Another trim: $400,000 for hurricane mitigation. "Cutting before a hurricane — that's smart," Hauptli comments acidly. "These proposals are disastrous for our institution and for the state university system."

Enter Gabe Pendas. "I've had legislators tell me they don't want to fund education because it produces a bunch of liberals," he says. "They have some fools at the federal level, but at the state level, whoo...."

He'll be in Florida next week meeting with student leaders in Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando, and Miami. He probably won't stage a sit-in at Charlie Crist's office ... or slug him in the jaw. Both are FSU grads. But it's clear that Gabe is a guy with sway over a substantial number of students — and one who's intent upon making education available to rich and poor alike, particularly in Florida.

"This cannot continue to be the path that our state goes in," he says. "It's frustrating to see so much at the federal level and nothing at home. It doesn't make any sense."