As the free college movement all but disappears from today’s political dialogue, a Temple University professor is hoping to spark a new movement: free smartphones for all college students.

Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab, a sociology professor who has dedicated much of her research to food and housing insecurity in higher education, sounded off in response to a Twitter comment criticizing college students for buying expensive phones that they can’t afford.

“I would love to see anyone attempt college these days without a functioning cell,” she tweeted.



Moreover, I would love to see anyone attempt college these days without a functioning cell. Many students don’t even have computers- and try to do all their homework on them. Those are $200-300 phones. The savings hardly pays for 4-6 years of college. #RealCollege https://t.co/3SYmpHswY8 — Dr. Sara Goldrick-Rab (@saragoldrickrab) December 1, 2018



While I was a college student, I never saw a student trying to do their homework off their phone. It’s a bit difficult to type a 10-page term paper with an iPhone touch screen, and most students have free access to a computer lab and other tech resources at their college library.

Goldrick-Rab argues that the lines at computer labs are excessive and that you can’t be connected to college in an effective way without a smartphone. The latter might be true, but students can always buy a steeply discounted unlocked smartphone or tablet online if they can’t afford a brand-new one.

Indiana University professor Jessica Calarco refers to a “new digital divide” between the students who can afford to maintain their devices and those who cannot. In reality, the only digital divide that I’ve observed is between students who don’t bother to buy a case or screen protector for their smartphones and tablets, and those who do. The ones who don’t make that small investment often end up paying for a replacement device. My iPhone 5S (with its Dollar Tree case) has lasted nearly three years after being dropped more times than I can count.

Arguing for free smartphones for students is like arguing for free birth control pills on campus. There are other less expensive ways to accomplish the same objective, and other people, namely students, shouldn’t have to pay for it.

The free smartphone argument is a distraction that clouds the overlying issue — college tuition and related fees are excessively high. The exponential increase in tuition costs at public universities extends far beyond the declining levels of support from state governments, as liberal leaders will often have you believe.

Between 1994 and 2014, tuition fees at a four-year public university have grown 110 percent and are expected to skyrocket in the coming years. Since so many people have a college degree in today’s world, it has almost become an expectation, and academia knows it can charge more based on the increased demand. They are using all kinds of amenities to attract students, and those amenities cost money. Plus, administrative costs are only increasing nationwide as new bureaucratic positions are created to address issues like diversity and inclusivity.

A $200-$300 smartphone isn’t going to make or break the bank for students. Tuition and campus housing costs pose the biggest challenge to students and are why students are going hungry or homeless — not smartphones.

Alas, with the free college movement dying and these costs continuing to rise, I suppose college students will take what they can get.

Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America's Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.