The Education Defenders: Students Protest Tuition Hikes
EmailABC News on Campus reporter Xorje Olivares blogs: Storming into the University of Texas Tower chanting “Whose school? Our school!” about 150 protestors in Austin, Texas, joined dozens of schools across the country to voice their concerns about tuition increases and budget cuts. The idea for the protest started within the University of California system, where students are facing a 32 percent increase in fees. They were quickly joined by students and faculty from 33 states and the District of Columbia for the March 4 Day of Action to Defend Education. “It’s absolutely clear that since last September, there’s been a huge increase [in frustration],” said Angus Johnston, creator of StudentActivism.net, and a historian at City University in New York. “Students see themselves as part of a movement now. There’s a very different self-perception in terms of seeing themselves connected on a national level.” Since last week, Johnston has been following the number of March 4 events and decided to aggregate them onto a Google Map on his website. He said he has counted 122 events nationwide, including those at Arizona State University, Syracuse University and the University of Texas at Austin. “[Students] have every right to express their point of view and we applaud that,” said Don Hale, vice president for Public Affairs at UT, adding that the university was originally committed to a low percentage increase in tuition. On Tuesday, it was announced that the UT Board of Regents approved a 3.95 percent increase in tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year. Undergraduate students from within the state will reportedly pay $4,709 per semester on average come next fall. “The [university] doesn’t feel too bad because [tuition increases] are happening elsewhere, but that doesn’t concern me,” said Diane, a government, Latin-American studies and African-American studies sophomore who asked that her last name not be used. The Arlington, Texas, native, admitted that her family was “already at the breaking point” with having to pay for her tuition. Nedra Lee, a UT anthropology graduate student, who received a fellowship to attend the university, said, “In a lot of ways, I’ve been very lucky. But [tuition hikes] do have a detrimental effect.” At Syracuse University, some students decided to protest by holding a sit-in at Bird Library, on campus. Since noon today, Syracuse student organizers collected more than 70 signatures on a petition that called for a lock on tuition increases and an end to cuts in employee benefits. The petition, which was begun two weeks ago and IS to be presented to the school’s administration, has more than 1,000 signatures. “We figured we would do something at the library because we saw it as symbolic and action-oriented,” said Mariel Fiedler, member of Students for a Democratic Society. “The sit-in is the culmination of everything.” The broadcast journalism senior said they received a phone call from the school’s Chancellor, Nancy Cantor, saying she was open to a discussion with the students about their concerns. Fiedler said they were going to return her phone call later today. StudentActivism.net’s Johnston said that while many students have a number of issues they are worried about, it seems as though the financial crisis was at the root of everyone’s concern. “Students are being asked to pay more,” Johnston said,” at the exact moment when they have less ability to pay.”
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Why isnt the media covering the real reason why the state governments and universities are broke: Investment of public funds into the stock market. Wall Street goes belly up and taxpayers absorb the risks. Sound familiar?
Posted by: Mark from atlanta | March 4, 2010, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
Socialism works until the other people’s money is gone. You are there. If you value education then you will pay for it.
Posted by: Taxpayer | March 4, 2010, 10:19 pm 10:19 pm
This is what happens when you spend, spend, spend and run out of “other people’s money.”
Posted by: jafo | March 4, 2010, 11:12 pm 11:12 pm
Oh well when they play adult and vote you have to pay the price too. Welcome to your vote at work. Join the rest of the people on unemployment and the bad economy. Is pretty blount but is what it is. I hate seeing education cuts and increases but is part of a bad economy going further and further in debt. Unfortunantly they will have to pay for all of this mess.
Posted by: Steve | March 4, 2010, 11:12 pm 11:12 pm
Raise taxes on those making 200,000 or more. They had a great ride during the Bush years but it’s time to pitch in rather cuts funds to all public systems that benefit society such as Police, Fire, infrastructure, government employees and yes our schools! The tax burden is on the middle class and the middle class and poor get ripped off on public services. $200,000 a year and more need to be taxed rather than making society as a whole suffer for the mistakes wallstreet.
Posted by: taxes | March 4, 2010, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
It is time to revolt fellow countrymen. When the government spends more on the war on drugs than education something is wrong. Also, when people have to bulldoze their houses down cause the IRS is gonna take it there is something wrong. When the government penalizes people for victimless crimes like drug use and then take away their right to vote. It is time. Benjamin Franklin said that 1 every 200 years there should be a revolution. A very wise man indeed.
Posted by: martin | March 5, 2010, 12:21 am 12:21 am
These kids haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until gas goes up to $7.00 a gallon and they are getting taxed for everything. Spend Spend Spend means tax tax tax on you kids. Then they will be working the rest of their lives to pay for everyone elses healthcare. Of course that won’t start until after Obama is elected again.
Posted by: Kala | March 5, 2010, 1:46 am 1:46 am
Have you ever seen a list of the salaries of college professors?? This may give you a clue as to why tuitions are going up. Unbelieveable!
Posted by: M. Smith | March 5, 2010, 8:24 am 8:24 am
Pay for it, my _ss. The core issue is the supremacist, elitist wealthy who think they are entitled to continuation of the Reagan and Bush tax cuts, and the enablement by the corporatists in the US Senate.
Their hired “security” forces will not be enough to stop the will of the real working class.
A brisk revolution is the only way…
Posted by: DS | March 5, 2010, 8:28 am 8:28 am
Steve- the top 1% pays almost 40% of the taxes, the top 10% pays 79% and the bottom 50%- which I am sure you are in- pays nothing.
Liberals like to give away everyone else’s money, but when they have to pay, it’s another story. A college education is a priviliege, not a right- pony up- pay for it or get a job.
Posted by: Maggie | March 5, 2010, 8:37 am 8:37 am
I wonder how many of the protesters are here illegally? Let me get this straight, they already have FREE homes, on the verge of getting FREE healthcare and now they want FREE education? What next a FREE car? You can’t have everything, kids! You’re not the only ones in America suffering from the bad economy.
Posted by: rkm63 | March 5, 2010, 8:40 am 8:40 am
I cant believe the note in the story above that some chick in Texas’s family is “already at the breaking point to pay for HER tuition” Unbelievable – just another example of the Entitlement Generation. I have a degree- my parents said- “You want to go to college- figure out how to pay for it” I did-I worked my ass off, did not party, bought no new clothes, liven in dumps and ate boxed Mac and cheese. Stop expectiong your parents to pay for everything.
Posted by: Maggie | March 5, 2010, 8:54 am 8:54 am
To anyone who thinks an English/Hisotry/Algebra/Sociology class are somehow different if taken at a community college, you’re the elitist. Get two years in at a community college (that you can actually afford), then transfer to a university/college. It’s not rocket science.
Posted by: s | March 5, 2010, 9:20 am 9:20 am
I am that girl that said she was at her breaking point. Ill have you know that because according to the FAFSA, I’m middle class therefore, there needn’t be any extra aid on my behalf, therefore I work two jobs and have my parents assistance, which is still menial. Also, following along with another commenter, I hope you realize that tuition has almost raised about 200% since you probably went to school. Therefore, you probably made enough to cover tuition and housing. Most middle class students cannot. Working and going to school seemed feasible, but in this day and age, all the studying time you can get is valuable because you are in a competition. This argument doesn’t stem from a liberal or conservative background but instead it comes from how much our society values education. We were able to spend spend spend bailing out these corporations to save jobs, but like I said, it isn’t my fault they messed up. It seems as though you all are apt to teaching our generation to borrow borrow borrow, instead of save save save. And we wonder why the younger generation is apt to supporting an administration that likes to spend so much. And following, Why should price have to hinder educational attainment. If she met the academic requirement to be at UT, not the financial requirement, she deserves everything UT has to offer.
Posted by: Janice | March 5, 2010, 11:49 am 11:49 am
I hate to say it but as there is less state and federal funding to spread around for higher education the burden will have to fall on the students or the familes of those students to pay for tuition.
Almost every state in the country has budget holes they need to close and most of them have choosen to cut subsidies and staffing to close the shortfall. Often times this means that people have to pay more out of pocket for the services they use because they government no longer has the money to pay for it.
My sister recently finished 5 years for an accounting degree and another 2 years for a teaching degree. From that schooling, even after grants and scholarships she still has a $52k student loan bill that will be with her for at least the next decade, if not longer. Graduated with a 3.87 GPA the first time and a 3.6 GPA the second.
Such a senario will be more an more common, with students having to pay more and more for their higher education themselves because, at least now, the supplemental funds that were available in the past aren’t there any longer, and may not be restored any time soon.
This isn’t an issue that can be fixed with taxing someone else to prevent the students from taking responsiblity for funding their own higher education. It is their responsibility to do so and in either case there isn’t anyone that they can defer to now to lift the burden off of them.
Should be a nice character building time in their life though.
“Welcome to the first day of the rest of your adult life!!! Here’s the bill.”
Posted by: bobtherepublican | March 5, 2010, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
You healthy young voters must purchase government approved $5,000 health insurance or pay $2,000 tax penalty. Add that to your tuition, suckers.
Posted by: Obama Says | March 5, 2010, 8:43 pm 8:43 pm
These nascent hardships that America’s students are beginning to endure will be met with less tools than previous generations may have had available. A lifetime of privilage and excess (pitched as necessity) have not given generation Y immediate tools to employ against a harder life. The blame lies at my door. I am a child of the 1960′s. I thought God was dead. I thought love was “free”. I thought mine was the first generation of truely free thinkers. I protested “the man”, and authority. I sneered at calls from the old fogies to be a better citizen. I chanted the mantra “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, but in truth, I was a dirty, long-haired, heathen, spoiled brat. Then, I raised my “spoiled brat” kids, who in turn, raised their “spoiled brat” kids, who are YOU. So if conceit and self-service are proper tools for you to employ against this looming hardship, you can thank me for giving them to you. I can tell you a couple things. God is not dead. You are not old at 30. Love is not “free”. Soap is your friend. Accepting responsibility for your life, good or bad, is inevitable because the sands of time eventually bury us all.
Posted by: K. Daraa | March 10, 2010, 2:24 pm 2:24 pm