For months, they warned it could happen. Now, barely a week after hundreds of UC students visited Sacramento to gain legislative support for a statewide tuition freeze, the university is considering student fee hikes. So much for affordability.
Though the UC Board of Regents hasn’t made any official decisions, the leading indicators are all there: a new state budget approved last month slashes university funding by 10 percent, campuses systemwide are announcing sweeping internal cuts and the regents decided last month to cap a number of high-executive salaries. You know things are bad when the university’s top talent begins to feel the crunch.
It’s easy to blame these proposed tuition hikes on the financial catastrophe, but students must avoid slipping into this realm of apathetic acceptance. We must confront the source of this added financial burden ‘mdash; a state government that continues to undervalue higher education’s importance ‘mdash; and demand change from above.
As evidenced by the recent student-lobbying excursion to the state capital, many have already moved to action. But more across the UC system must make known their opposition to these tuition hikes and seek reform on a legislative level. It is only when our lawmakers come to realize the extent of our opposition that they will provide more support to the university, support needed to prevent any further financial strain on already overburdened students.