college tuition

Apparently the phrase "supporting the troops" is just a political sham:

The legislature's failure this summer to give a tuition break to veterans at North Carolina's colleges and universities may result in a federal lawsuit, the leader of a student veterans organization said Wednesday. "It's really inexcusable," Thigpen said. Lawmakers say they support veterans, he said, but "what really defines our character and who we are is not just what we talk about doing, but what we do."

Semper Fidelis, De Oppresso Liber, and Esse Quam Videri. One of those three Latin mottos is no longer worth the effort to type it.

This not only costs veterans money they can't afford to spend, it could cost them (and their families) their future:

The GI Bill last year quit paying the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for veterans attending public colleges and universities. The veterans were told to pay the difference.

That's an extra $19,826 per year (UNC-CH) out of some pretty shallow pockets. In other words, they either won't be able to attend, or they'll have to take on crushing debt to do so. If the General Assembly fails to act, it's the same thing as saying "Your service and sacrifice mean nothing to us." And while we're on the subject of sacrifice: