The first few sentences are significant: "It isn't just tuition increases that are driving up the cost of college". Tuition increases put enough strain on financially challenged students. "Around the country, DEEP BUDGET CUTS are FORCING some colleges to lay off instructors and eliminate some classes (a lot of classes actually), making it harder for studernts to get into the courses they need to earn their degrees".

For these students, this is a strain mentally, financially, economically and psychologically. According to Michael Redoglia, a fourth-year student at San Francisco State University for whom "time is money", "This semester has put me back another full year" and is just "killing me financially". Redoglia, who would be a senior if not for the cutbacks, "UNSUCCESSFULLY CRASHED 26 different classes, HOPING to find some combination that would move him closer to a hospitality management degree", without any luck. He wanted to finish his degree in 4.5 years, but this plan is also "up in smoke", because of these huge budget cuts. If something has gone "up in smoke", that is NOT a good indicator. Redoglia is now enrolled in only 2 courses this semester. So, it's safe to say that this guy is exasperated and frustrated.

This is a sentiment shared by students and professors at colleges and universities, big and small, from coast to coast. According to David Baggins, chairman of political science at Cal State University-East Bay, "THEY WILL NOT GRADUATE ON TIME". This will be devastating for a lot of students. Baggins "HAS BEEN BOMBARDED with requests for spots in already packed classes". He continued: "BEFORE, there was always a way to help the student who really needed help" because "Before", we weren't dealing with this once-in-a-lifetime financial crisis that is second in severity only to the Great Depression. "NOW, all I can do is say 'No'" and Baggins is the chair of the department, so we can appreciate the strain and the pressure that all the other faculty members in the same department are under.

Haley Sink, a Virginia Tech sophomore from Kennersville, North Carolina is in the same boat as Redoglia. This young lady "failed to get into several classes this year and hopes to avoid a fifth year of out-of-state tuition". However, it's important to note that Sink is only a sophomore which means that she has the luxury of two more years of time which is something that Redoglia, a senior, does not have.

Sherrie Canedo, a fifth-year senior at Cal-State East Bay, also doesn't have the luxury of time. According to Yahoo!, "Sherrie Canedo, a fifth-year senior at Cal-State East Bay, was recently told that she could finish her ethnic studies degree through independent study because (again), most of the courses (that) she NEEDS were eliminated", again because of severe budget cuts. And Caneda seems to be frustrated, exasperated and angry: "I don't feel that's an acceptable way to learn. I'M PAYING TO BE TAUGHT IN A CLASSROOM". Canedo has to work 2 jobs just to "string together" enough money, ALONG WITH financial aid, to finish her education so we can see and understand why she is so frustrated, exasperated and running out of patience.

The people commenting in this report are not speculators who are buying more house than they can reasonably afford. These are honest folks, TRYING TO LIVE THEIR LIVES. So we have a long way to go before we can claw our way out of this economic mess. We can see from the caption how eager these students seem to be to get into the classes that they are now missing. From an international standpoint/perspective, we have to target China and Donald Tsang again because they have said time and again that China's economy has always been strong. So, all right, let's call for all countries to, as much as humanly possible, to stop buying things that are "Made in China" and observe the impact on China's economy. Let's REALLY isolate China and all her cronies in Hong Kong and Macau and see what happens. The bottom line, again, is: with California, THE WORLD'S 8th largest economy, basically still in tatters, along with Virginia and many other states in THE WORLD'S largest economy, how is it possible that China is still doing so well (OK, this is not the main point because India and Brazil are also growing reasonably well). The issue is: THEY ARE STILL SCREAMING THAT THEY ARE NOT GROWING ENOUGH (even at a rate of more than 8 or 9%) AND THEY WANT TO PUMP UP STOCK INDICES EVEN MORE. Chances are, if they are isolated for 6 months or more from the international community and are forced to survive on their own, THE CHINESE will be begging and very happy for 3-6% economic growth. Surely, this is the day that Donald Tsang, Edmund Ho, Stanley Ho and Stephen Lam will surely dread.