According to the definition from a logical fallacy is "an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed". There are different types of logical fallacies, such as formal and informal fallacies, verbal and material fallacies, etc.
In the excerpt you provided, the author includes a red herring fallacy. This is a type of informal fallacy that involves introducing an irrelevant topic or point to divert attention from the main issue. The author tries to distract from the question of why college education should be free by attacking state programs that allegedly waste money and corrupt politicians. This has nothing to do with the merits of free college education and does not address the possible criticisms of the author's view.