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Editor’s note: Editor in Chief Chris Brown is reporting from the Middle East while participating in Project Interchange, a student newspaper editors’ seminar in Israel conducted by the American Jewish Committee.

JERUSALEM – It’s hardly news to say that the Middle East – including Israel – has its share of problems.

But despite the constant news of conflict between the Jewish state and its neighbors, American students and lawmakers may be able to learn something from the Israeli model, especially when it comes to keeping higher education affordable.

Tuition costs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are about $2,500 per semester. HUJ is one of the top schools in Israel and the surrounding region and thanks to government support for the school, most Israeli residents to pay about $2,500 per year for undergraduate programs. Resident undergraduate students at many schools in the U.S. often pay more than twice that much. U of L students, for example, pay about $2,700 per semester, or $5,400 per year.

Resident students in graduate programs at U.S. schools also see similarly higher tuition rates than those at HUJ and other Israeli colleges and universities. Interestingly, graduate student tuition is lower than undergraduate tuition at HUJ as an effort to attract more pupils to post-graduate programs.

The trend continues when comparing tuition rates for non-resident and international students in the two countries.

More important than just monetary figures of the matter though, is the apparent Israeli student commitment to keeping the cost of higher education affordable. A recent student strike left HUJ classrooms nearly empty in an effort to send a message to Israeli lawmakers, some students on the campus said.

The strike was evidence of Israeli student’s personal interest in keeping tuition as low as possible. “Students [at HUJ] are full-time students and many of them have full-time jobs,” said Iris Margolis, a student at the HUJ main campus.

It’s also important to note that most Israelli students don’t even enter university until several years after completing secondary school. Israelis complete several years of compulsory military service before attending a university (three years for men and two years for women), explained Noam Castel, the editor of the student newspaper at HUJ. Many students, he said, have families and other financial responsibilities to balance with school so they have a vested interest in keeping tution at affordable levels.

It’s puzzling why students at U of L and other U.S. schools can’t muster the same motivation. Indeed, many students work and have family responsibilities, but the profile of a traditional college student generally doesn’t include a spouse, children or a full-time job, meaning students should have more time and energy to invest.

Sadly, fewer than 50 Cardinal students showed up for last year’s higher education rally in Frankfort. What are lawmakers, who continually cut funding from higher education, supposed to think when less than half of one percent of a school’s student body shows concern.

So this year, when the official skip class day rolls around this February, take a stand and join your classmates to rally for more funding for higher education.

Chris Brown is a junior majoring in biology and Spanish. E-mail him at cbrown@louisvillecardinal.com.