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As a low SES student from the Central Coast my first two years doing a BArts at the University of Newcastle gave me the skills I hadn& #39;t developed by the end of Year 12.
I learnt the skills of critical thinking, of reading beyond what was easy and familiar, I learnt about classical Greece, the Vietnam War, Modern China, Theology, Literature.
I put together a program of units that was of most interest to me.
I put together a program of units that was of most interest to me.
During my BArts I learnt the importance if speaking up and of finding my voice.
Those two years of BArts were the years I needed to bring me up to a tertiary standard of knowledge that helped my step into my actual field of interest: Writing & Media, then Teaching.
The cost of all my tertiary study is something I have had to pay off. The cost of tertiary study evaporated my financial independence. Marriage secured my financial freedom to continue into research.
When I was at uni, an Arts/humanities cost $4000 a year. $12,000 was a lot for a girl whose only money came from working casually through the latter years of highschool & all of uni.
Current fees of $6804 ($20,412) is a lot of money for women to bear. That is a huge weight to carry if they are ensure their future economic freedom and independence.
For a woman of 18 years to commit to a 3 year degree that will cost her $43,500 is grotesque in modern Australia.
Such a cost will be a financial penalty upon her future and upon her potential children.
Such a cost will penalise women and limit their liberty.
Such a cost will be a financial penalty upon her future and upon her potential children.
Such a cost will penalise women and limit their liberty.
I will not let this future for my students and my children pass undefended.
I am furious, resolute, & committed to defending the Arts & Humanities.
I am furious, resolute, & committed to defending the Arts & Humanities.
