College graduates around the country are facing staggering levels of debt, even into the six figure range.  A tough job market doesn't help, but the main culprit is rising tuition costs.  

The University of Vermont (UVT) has proposed a 5.8 percent tuition increase, which would make it even more difficult for students who are struggling to find a job after graduation to pay back their loans.  

The Vermont Cynic asks the obvious question that seems to have eluded the college administrators responsible for this proposal -- where exactly is the money going that requires this increase?

The Cynic writes:  

"We assume it goes to professors' salaries, building maintenance, transportation, housing, but in what percentages?  How much of your money is going to your favorite English professor [or] the custodian who cleaned the vomit off your floor?  

"The answer is: We don't know.   

"There is no easily accessible and comprehensive breakdown of where students' money goes.  The only method of tracking your money is through students' credits and their room and board.  Everything else is rather hazy." 

The promoted school programs - from speakers, to sporting events, to meals - are presented to students as if they are a gift from a generous university, when actually they are paid for with a combination of tuition and mandatory student activities fees.  

The University of Vermont (UVM), founded in 1791, is nestled in the shadows of the Green Mountains in Burlington, Vermont. (That means UVM is also set in Chittenden County, ranked as the eleventh most liberal county in the country by the Daily Caller.) UVM prides itself on maintaining a small liberal arts college atmosphere despite its enrollment of more than 11,000 students.

Campus Life

Of the eight political student groups at UVM, six are liberal.

The liberal student groups are the College Democrats; International Socialist Organization; Students Against War; UVM's Students for Sensible Drug policy; and the Campus Progressives, affiliated with the Progressive Party of Vermont.

The two conservative groups are the College Republicans and VT Students for Israel, which promotes a pro-Israel message on campus.

Nestled in the shadows of the Green Mountains on Lake Champlain in Burlington, the University of Vermont ranks 88 in U.S. News and World Report’s list of Top 100 Universities for the 2010 yearly report.