UC Students Rally Against Tuition Increases
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Rallying against proposed increases to tuition and fees, University of California student activists are planning massive on-campus protests this week. Today, students on campuses all over the state are staging demonstrations. Tomorrow, many will take buses to San Francisco to demonstrate at the UC Board of Regents meeting. UCLA student Nader Nasr has created a petition on Change.orgthat has close to 900 signatures.
What's behind this campaign? A request from the University of California to the Board of Regents to increase tuition for students another eight percent (fees increased 32 percent last year) to more than $11,000. Similar tuition increases for students in the Cal State education system are also in the works. Tuition (also called "fees") doesn't cover the other costs of room, board and books that families pay for higher education (UC Berkeley has the second-highest cost for room and board of any institutions, public or private, the Los Angeles Times editorial board has reported).
Although the increases would also come with increases in financial aid packages, students who don't qualify for financial aid, yet still can't afford the high price of college, will fall deeper into debt.
In a UCLA student video, undergraduate students talk about the increased financial hardships they face because they attend college. "This year, I have to work around 20 hours a week..." says one student. "It's been really difficult to balance everything." Another student says he's from a middle-class student family
