First off, Betsy,

May I begin by saying how incredibly impressed I am with your immaculate wealth and multimillion dollar political contributions? I mean, if you actually put forth such hefty contributions into improving public schools in low income neighborhoods, as you did in buying the votes of Republican senators, I might would believe that you have the slightest of good intentions for the youth of our nation.

As I am sure many of you are aware, Betsy DeVos has recently been confirmed as the new United States’ Secretary of Education. Historically, most Secretaries of Education possess extensive resumes as school administrators or educators. However, DeVos possesses neither. In fact, Betsy lacks a degree in Education, experience as an educator, experience in a public school environment (not only has Betsy never attended a public school, but neither have her children or any members of her family), and lacks a general knowledge of Education policy and terminology. Betsy’s senate hearing was also utterly embarrassing. If it had been a standardized test, she would have bombed it. Betsy’s inability to recognize the difference between “growth” and “proficiency” alone was concerning. However, her advocacy for students needing guns in school as protection from grizzly bears, was both pitiful and priceless at best.

In addition to being blissfully ignorant, DeVos also poses a direct threat to public education. Betsy and her husband (Dick DeVos, who happens to be the billionaire heir to the Amway fortune), have spent millions advancing a radical school privatization agenda, including taxpayer vouchers for private and religious schools, and financially supporting politicians across the Nation willing to advance that agenda. To put the DeVos family’s wealth into perspective, DeVos’s father-in-law, Richard DeVos, is currently ranked as number 88 on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans (For reference, Donald Trump is number 156).

I, as a student pursing an education degree, as a future public school educator, as the daughter of a public school educator, and as a politically active citizen concerned for the welfare of our society, am disgusted. Do you have any idea how highly qualified public school educators and administrators are required to be? Do you have any inkling of an idea of the constant evaluation, recertification, and continuous development that public educators endure on top of obtaining a BA, MA or PHD in their fields? Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to watch you just walk on up and buy your position lacking any qualification, while we are underappreciated and underpaid professionally and in an average of $37,172 worth of student debt?

Betsy DeVos is also a threat to public universities. In fact, an ethics report reveals that she has ties with a student debt collecting firm. This is potentially a conflict of interest, as DeVos likely could financially benefit from an increase in the tuition of public universities.

Let’s put this into perspective Ms. Betsy, as a full-time student at a public university, receiving above average amounts of financial aid, working two part-time jobs, I can still barely afford to cover the costs of my tuition, housing, food, and basic living needs (averaging approximately $30,000 per year). I graduated in the top ten at my high school (my public high school, to be more specific), I currently receive the LIFE Scholarship, James Clyburn Scholarship, Strom Thurmond Scholarship, Edgar Miles Scholarship, a small Pell Grant, an Institutional Need-Based Grant, and a Federal TEACH Grant. With all of this financial aid, I still have to take out a loan to cover my annual costs, and I pay out of pocket for my books and class materials. Many other students here are not as fortunate as I am, they are struggling. Bottom Line: I work hard, have a highly distinguished GPA, and receive multiple scholarships and grants, and I STILL CANNOT AFFORD THE CONTINUOUSLY RISING COSTS OF MY PUBLIC UNIVERSITY. When you further reduce federal funding to public universities because you stand to make a profit off of our financial struggle, you become an enemy to progressive society.

As we have known for quite some time, (but some of us seem to still not get it) unqualified candidates do not excel at their jobs. Neurosurgeons do not make good politicians, Reality TV Stars do not make good Commander-in-Chiefs, and extremely wealthy people who spend their entire careers being an enemy to public schools, do not aim to improve them.

Finally, I would like to leave you with a quote by John Green: “Public education does not exist for the benefit of students or the benefit of their parents. It exists for the benefit of the social order. We have discovered as a species that it is useful to have an educated populace. You do not need to be a student or have a child who is a student to benefit from public education. Every second of your life, you benefit from public education. So let me explain why I like to pay taxes for schools, even though I don’t personally have a kid in school: it’s because I don’t like living in a country with a bunch of stupid people.”