Support the troops! Yeehaw!Texas Marine told he’s not state resident

[Horse with no Name]

AUSTIN (AP) — A decorated Marine enrolling in college was surprised to learn his Texas driver’s license, car registration and bank records weren’t enough to qualify him for the lower-priced state resident tuition.
Carl Basham said officials at Austin Community College recently told him that his two tours of duty in Iraq kept him out of the state too long to qualify for Texas resident tuition.
Privacy laws prevent college officials from specifically discussing Basham’s case, but Austin Community College spokesman Dwayne Cox said it’s not Basham’s military tours that keep him from meeting in-state residence requirements.
Under Texas law, members of the military are presumed to maintain the same residence as when they enlisted in the service. Although he grew up throughout Texas and lived most of his youth in Waco, Basham graduated from high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps in Monroe, La.

http://64.40.146.235/news.php?date=08182005

[eleny]

1. I smell an exception on the horizon

[Geoff R. Casavant]

4. Me too.

Like it or not, there are different requirements for residency for different things. Residency for tuition purposes is more stringent than residency for drivers' licenses or voter registration. I expect a lot of the folks at ACC would waive the requirement if given a chance, but they are not allowed that kind of discretion and must follow the law as written.

I expect that someone, somewhere, has the discretion to make an exception, and I expect that will not be long coming.

[hobbit709]

2. I'd be giving them hell

and make enough noise that they'll back down.

[Coastie for Truth]

3. Texas will be a loser if Basham goes to court

That issue was litigated so frequently during the VietNam era -- and the state usually lost.

"Residency Litigation" was jokingly referred to as a "JAG Corps sub specialty" - like marijuana prosecutions and "rent to own" furniture store rip offs.

(Louisiana tried to pass a law prohibiting JAG Corps lawyers from bringing those suits on behalf of service members - defeated.)