I am a public relations major double minoring in biology and psychology, on the pre-physician’s assistant track. I am that student, the one who bounced around from major to major trying to decide which path to pursue in life. However, my end goal has remained constant even in the midst of my other inconsistencies.

At this point, I plan to use my major as a back-up and instead become a physician’s assistant. How, then, would my tuition rate be decided under the plan to be proposed by the Florida task force? According to the plan, tuition rates will be based on the demand of jobs that could result from certain majors and that those majors with a higher job demand will not be hit with a tuition increase.

This is supposed to serve as a way of drawing students to those majors. Has it been considered that some students, like myself, do not plan to have a career resulting from their major but rather branch off into something different? This Florida task force says my declared major should be the sole factor in setting my tuition rate rather than what I plan to do as a career.

I feel this is an indirect, and possibly unintended, avenue of punishing students who choose other majors. If some majors do not experience cost increases, that cost will need to be made up for by other majors because the university still needs the revenue. Therefore, for those whose tuition will increase, it may increase by an even larger percentage than in the past.

In addition, it is also quite possibly indirect manipulation, because students may experience more pressure from parents or others to take the cheaper route, which could result in unhappiness later in life if they do not pursue their passion. Also, the task force proposing the plan says the demand for certain jobs will be evaluated based on the state in which the university exists.

What about the out-of-state students who plan to return home to work upon graduating college? Or any student who plans to work in another state after graduation? Because of all these remaining uncertainties, I do not believe these tuition restrictions can be fairly applied. To conclude, I believe there are more fair and efficient ways of going about solving the problems caused by budget cuts in higher education.

Miranda Ward is a junior majoring in public relations.