In the latest television advertisement
of his gubernatorial campaign,
Baltimore Mayor Martin
O'Malley focuses on the cost of
higher education in Maryland
and suggests his administration
will do more to keep tuition
down. The 30-second spot blames
his opponent, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich
Jr., for tuition increases at the
state's university system.
What the ad says: In what is perhaps the campaign's most whimsical advertisement yet, two children are seen in a living room, reaching for a University of Maryland diploma that hangs on the wall. The narrator says, "These days, a college degree is just beyond the reach of too many Maryland families."
As the children step on a couch and reach around from a staircase to grab at the diploma, the narrator says that the cost of college education has increased "by over 40 percent" and that the state has received an "F" in college affordability.
"One leader has a plan to change that," the narrator says as O'Malley appears on screen. "Freeze tuition, increase scholarships and expand access and opportunity."
The facts: The language and sentence structure of the advertisement suggest to voters that O'Malley is committing to a tuition freeze if elected governor. The campaign is making no such promise, however. When the advertisement discusses a "tuition freeze," it is referring to a January news conference in which O'Malley called on Ehrlich to freeze tuition in the current budget year.
Earlier this year, Ehrlich described talk of a freeze as "hollow campaign rhetoric" and an "election- year gimmick," but he agreed to the freeze in this year's session of the General Assembly after more state money for higher education was found from other sources. O'Malley's campaign has offered no specific objectives for how tuition would change if he were elected.
O'Malley's claim that tuition has gone up more than 40 percent during the Ehrlich administration appears to be inflated. Tuition and fees at the University System of Maryland have increased, on average, just under 35 percent, from $4,926 in the 2002-2003 school year to $6,634 in the current year. Sharper increases have been realized at certain schools, such as the University of Maryland, College Park, where tuition and fees increased 39 percent.
Ehrlich aides note that tuition also rose under Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat. The governor does not set the state tuition rate. Instead, that responsibility falls to the system's Board of Regents. The board makes its decision on tuition, in part, based on funding that is set in the governor's budget.
The "F" grade refers to a 2004 report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a nonpartisan research group. In addition to Maryland, the report gave an "F" grade to 35 other states and a grade of "C" or lower to an additional 13 states. Only one state, California, received a higher grade -- and that was a "B."
Analysis: O'Malley's advertisement is the first in the campaign to focus exclusively on higher education, an issue that will undoubtedly resonate with middle-class voters. Education is the most important issue facing Maryland, according to a poll conducted recently for The Sun. The spot comes as Ehrlich has been hammering the mayor on another education issue --the city's schools.
What the ad says: In what is perhaps the campaign's most whimsical advertisement yet, two children are seen in a living room, reaching for a University of Maryland diploma that hangs on the wall. The narrator says, "These days, a college degree is just beyond the reach of too many Maryland families."
As the children step on a couch and reach around from a staircase to grab at the diploma, the narrator says that the cost of college education has increased "by over 40 percent" and that the state has received an "F" in college affordability.
"One leader has a plan to change that," the narrator says as O'Malley appears on screen. "Freeze tuition, increase scholarships and expand access and opportunity."
The facts: The language and sentence structure of the advertisement suggest to voters that O'Malley is committing to a tuition freeze if elected governor. The campaign is making no such promise, however. When the advertisement discusses a "tuition freeze," it is referring to a January news conference in which O'Malley called on Ehrlich to freeze tuition in the current budget year.
Earlier this year, Ehrlich described talk of a freeze as "hollow campaign rhetoric" and an "election- year gimmick," but he agreed to the freeze in this year's session of the General Assembly after more state money for higher education was found from other sources. O'Malley's campaign has offered no specific objectives for how tuition would change if he were elected.
O'Malley's claim that tuition has gone up more than 40 percent during the Ehrlich administration appears to be inflated. Tuition and fees at the University System of Maryland have increased, on average, just under 35 percent, from $4,926 in the 2002-2003 school year to $6,634 in the current year. Sharper increases have been realized at certain schools, such as the University of Maryland, College Park, where tuition and fees increased 39 percent.
Ehrlich aides note that tuition also rose under Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat. The governor does not set the state tuition rate. Instead, that responsibility falls to the system's Board of Regents. The board makes its decision on tuition, in part, based on funding that is set in the governor's budget.
The "F" grade refers to a 2004 report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a nonpartisan research group. In addition to Maryland, the report gave an "F" grade to 35 other states and a grade of "C" or lower to an additional 13 states. Only one state, California, received a higher grade -- and that was a "B."
Analysis: O'Malley's advertisement is the first in the campaign to focus exclusively on higher education, an issue that will undoubtedly resonate with middle-class voters. Education is the most important issue facing Maryland, according to a poll conducted recently for The Sun. The spot comes as Ehrlich has been hammering the mayor on another education issue --the city's schools.
[John Fritze]
