<p>Collegetiger, what’s different about a tuition of 60K? Many of us can’t afford a COA of 60K, or 50K, or 40K. Years ago parents started pushing their bright, superachieving kids into state schools, and that is why you already have honors colleges and very good educations at many of the big state unis. I hope more state legislatures, governors, and voters will look to the future and see the demand that their states have for quality, affordable state universities (regardless of the quality of their football teams). People want to live in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, etc., because of the quality of their state schools, because good state research institutions breed high-paying jobs and 21st-century industries. Massachusetts has been living far too long on the very expensive universities in its eastern half and allowed to languish its state flagship. Colorado has cut off the funding to my alma mater. Look at what California has done to itself. Ridiculous, short-sighted, I’ll stop there. We need to have national and state conversations about how we fund higher education. Only if the money continues to flow into UMass will the new living learning building make a bit of difference to the university’s fate. Lipstick on a pig, indeed.</p>