Last week, when I opened the Collegian to the opinion section, I wasn’t surprised to find a pro-Bush letter to the editor after the previous week’s anti-Bush letter to the editor.

I was surprised, however, to learn a few things. Apparently, it is not the government’s responsibility to help students pay for college. Keep in mind, when you borrow student loans, you have to pay the money back – with interest.

Approximately 86 percent of SDSU students receive some type of financial aid, which includes loans, scholarships, grants and work-study funding.

If you do have the funds to pay for your college education without any financial aid, congratulations. If you don’t have the financial ability to pay for college without financial aid, like approximately 9,000 other SDSU students, then student loans are probably paying for your room and board, tuition and books.

So the government is not responsible for providing financial aid to educate the public. It is, however, the government’s responsibility to be the “big brother to the rest of the world.” And, apparently, it is also the federal government’s responsibility to allegedly illegally wiretap American citizens.

At this point, I have learned two things about the current goals and policies of the administration. Paying for education for the nation’s youth: bad idea. Allegedly wiretapping our citizens illegally: perfectly fine.

Furthermore, I do not think that the majority of liberals love to hate Bush. Many Americans don’t agree with the current president, but disagreement does not translate automatically to hatred.

I think most Americans would like to have respect for and pride in their president. However, many Americans are not proud of Bush and do not respect the policies of the current administration.

I do, however, agree with the “Many ‘love to hate Bush'” letter in one instance: “Our country will continue to grow.” Yes, the population of the United States will probably grow, especially if our nation’s schools are teaching “abstinence-only” sex education, or no sex education at all.

And what if states (including South Dakota) attempt to pass laws that ban any form of abortion, with no exception for cases of rape or incest? Not informing high-school students about safe sex is certainly going to cause our country to grow, with unplanned pregnancies. Except then, if teenagers become mothers and fathers, they will probably have limited funding for college after spending money on diapers and formula. They just might have to rely on student loans to pay for college.

#1.884443:1000764594.jpg:Alicia Brown.jpg:Ali Brown, Columnist: