Republican University of Colorado Regent primary candidates face off

CU Regents candidate Matt Arnold (file | )

During the recently completed school year, the University of Colorado saw the state Supreme Court overturn its ban on firearms on campus and saw the state legislature cut its funding by more than $11 million, which in turn led to a 5 percent tuition hike on the Boulder campus ? the sixth consecutive year of rate increases.

Each of these issues ? as well as a myriad of others ? were dealt with by the school's Board of Regents, a nine-member body consisting of officials elected from each of Colorado's seven legislative districts and two at-large spots. One of those seats will be up for grabs in November, with incumbent Democrat Stephen Ludwig and American Constitution Party candidate Brian Scott facing off against

CU Regents candidate Brian Davidson. (file | )

the winner of Tuesday's Republican primary race between Matt Arnold and Brian Davidson.

Recently, Arnold and Davidson responded to questions from The Denver Post regarding their positions on some of the issues surrounding CU as well as higher education in Colorado.

Here are their answers:

DP: The Colorado Supreme Court has overturned CU's ban on concealed weapons, but campus chancellors have said they still want to ban guns in dorms and at sporting events. Do you support this effort? Why or why not?

Arnold: The Colorado Supreme Court was absolutely right to overturn CU's ban on concealed weapons ? as I have argued for years, CU's ban was a clear violation of state law.

I strongly oppose the ongoing efforts of some of CU's campus chancellors to impose a back-door gun ban as an end-run around the law ? policies sure to draw another legal challenge. I commend the more thoughtful and collaborative approach pursued by UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak, who is convening a group of interested parties to address both legal and safety concerns surrounding the responsible exercise of concealed-carry and the presence of firearms on campus. I believe that the concerns of all parties can be addressed, to ensure that both safety and legal rights of CU students, faculty, staff, and visitors are preserved.

It is clear that affirming the right of responsible adults to reasonably exercise their inherent and constitutionally protected right of self-defense is not only good law, it's good policy.

Davidson: I believe that it is possible to provide a safe environment on CU's campuses and follow Colorado law regarding this issue. A few CU system chancellors are holding open forums with students, staff, and community members to discuss the specifics of proposed policies. Similar to other university housing options, it is likely possible to offer residence hall accommodations for those students who wish to lawfully hold a conceal-carry permit without imposing on the comfort and security of other students and staff. Conversations with university leaders suggest that the number of students involved would be exceedingly small given that only students 21 years old and older are eligible for a conceal-carry permit. Students who are 21 years or older comprise about 5-7% of the residence hall population at CU and have many off-campus housing options available.

Sporting events offer a unique environment where security presence is high. Policy related to sporting events should be created only after discussion with independent security professionals and evaluating numerous related policies of other public sporting venues.

DP: Colorado's funding for higher education is among the lowest in the nation. Do you think more tax dollars should go to support CU and other institutions? If so, where would you get that money from?

Davidson: Higher education is an excellent investment if tax and tuition dollars are efficiently allocated toward the core missions of the institution. Reductions in public higher education funding have been significant over the past decade, resulting in increasing cost and debt load for students and families. I am generally favorable to tax dollars supporting education if the support is used efficiently to provide high quality education. TABOR and a number of other initiatives greatly limit the public funding sources and amounts for higher education. Colorado voters must decide how tax dollars should be reallocated to meet the needs and express the values of our state.

Arnold: Colorado's funding for higher education is, unfortunately, a reflection of the constrained fiscal environment facing the entire state. With many competing demands for state tax dollars, higher education funding is increasingly being squeezed out of the state budget ? which is an unfortunate reality.

However, higher education in general ? and CU in particular ? has less of a revenue problem than a spending problem. Although state funding for higher education has declined in recent years (after actually experiencing some increases in the middle part of the decade), the reductions in state funding have been dwarfed by increases in CU's spending. Over the past half-decade, the CU budget has ballooned from $2.3 Billion/year to over $2.8 Billion/year ? an increase of half a billion dollars in the last half-decade!

Much of the increased spending has not gone to improve education quality or relevance, but has been frittered away on expenditures having little to do with advancing CU's core mission of educating students. Rather than appropriate more tax dollars from the citizens of this state (who are already experiencing sticker shock at the more than tripling of CU's tuition over the past decade), the CU Board of Regents needs to eliminate wasteful spending and focus limited resources on the core mission of improving the quality and relevance of a CU education, which will have the effect of freeing up more financial resources for truly worthy educational programs that will help Colorado students.

DP: Do you support a special tuition rate for undocumented students like that recently adopted by Metro State? Why or why not?

Arnold: I strongly oppose a "special" (let's be honest: taxpayer-subsidized) tuition rate for students who are not legally resident in Colorado (or the United States).

Although it's hard not to feel sympathy for people seeking to better their lives by seeking jobs, education, and citizenship in this country, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. It's not fair to legal Colorado residents (of ALL backgrounds), it's not fair to residents of neighboring states, and it's not fair to international students coming here to study, either.

It's not even fair to the kids it would supposedly help - since even after receiving a college education (with taxpayers pitching in), the "undocumented" graduates would still not be legally able to obtain employment, and would still be illegally in the country. All sympathy for affected individuals aside (and it's hard not to feel for the kids who have grown up here illegally through no direct action of their own), it doesn't help them get naturalized as citizens or help them obtain legal employment ? in a way, it's a cruel taunt to graduate college, possibly saddled with debt, and still be told: "sorry, we can't hire you."

If people want to help these kids, start up a (voluntary) scholarship fund, or help them become legal citizens (one sure path to citizenship: serve a tour in the military - learn useful skills, demonstrate commitment to our country, and put away money for college, too).

Davidson: I do not support special rates beyond current in-state and out-of-state distinctions. Offering an additional special class will create unintended consequences and crosses basic fairness boundaries. The United States, including Colorado, cannot ignore the fact that thousands of undocumented young people are currently residing within our borders and hoping for a brighter future. This policy issue must be debated and handled at the state and federal level. Individual higher education institutions should not circumvent the will of the people and the civic process.

Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com

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