# FILE NAME: 00000366.soc
# TITLE: Should we abolish or reduce university tuition fees? [c14c61a7a3cff3f13fafeadff2176484]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 5
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - We should reduce or abolish university tuition fees. The consensus view was reached by all participants having a good discussion about their own views, hearing what others had to say, and coming to a point of agreement that they could all support. The reasons for supporting the reduction or abolition of tuition fees were that the current situation makes it very difficult for people of lower socioeconomic status to go to university. It makes it prohibitively expensive, and so puts them at a disadvantage when compared to people who can afford to pay. This leads to a continued situation of people born into a wealthy family doing well, and people born into a poor family doing badly, with the latter being unable to break the cycle and do well. It also deters many people from wanting to go to university in the first place, as they see it as a waste of money when they could be getting a job, or earning money straight away. The situation is also unethical, because students are paying an expensive fee for their education, and then being asked to pay even more for it after they've graduated. They end up with huge amounts of debt, and so find it very difficult to save for things like a mortgage, or starting a family. It's an
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - We should reduce or abolish university tuition fees, as this will mean that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds will have an equal opportunity to attend university. At the moment, those from wealthy backgrounds have an advantage, and those from poor backgrounds are not given the chance to break the cycle of generational poverty, and so end up having a poorer quality of life. It also means that more people will want to attend university, because it will not be prohibitively expensive, and so society as a whole will benefit from a more educated populace.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - We should reduce or abolish university tuition fees. This was a decision made by all of the participants of the group, after a discussion in which they had a good opportunity to put forward their own views, hear what other people thought, and then come to a point of agreement that they could all support. The reasons for supporting the reduction or abolition of tuition fees were that the current situation makes it very difficult for people of lower socioeconomic status to go to university. It makes it prohibitively expensive, and so puts them at a disadvantage when compared to people who can afford to pay. This leads to a continued situation of people born into a wealthy family doing well, and people born into a poor family doing badly, with the latter being unable to break the cycle and do well. It also deters many people from wanting to go to university in the first place, as they see it as a waste of money when they could be getting a job, or earning money straight away. The situation is also unethical, because students are paying an expensive fee for their education, and then being asked to pay even more for it after they've graduated. They end up with huge amounts of debt, and so find it very difficult to save for
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - We should reduce or abolish university tuition fees. The current system does not allow for people from poorer backgrounds to attend university, and those who do find themselves with a huge debt that they have to pay back. The financial strain this puts on people for years after they've graduated makes it very difficult for them to move on with their lives, and buy a house, start a family, or anything else. The government should be funding more university education, and lowering the barriers for poorer people to get a university education. This would allow people to get on in life, and it would break the cycle of people born into a poor family being unable to do well. The current system is not sustainable or fair, and we should change it. A group of participants was tasked with coming up with a consensus opinion on an important question. Below is presented the question, the opinions of each individual participant, the first draft of a consensus statement, the critiques of the draft consensus statement by the participants, and the final consensus statement reached after much deliberation.
1: 2,1,3,4
1: 1,3,2,4
1: 4,1,3,2
1: 4,3,1,2
1: 3,2,4,1