Students
may find fee increase difficult
By Cassady Jeremias
On-line Forty-Niner
The CSU Board of Trustees argue that
going to school in California is still one
of the most affordable places to go.
“Fees at the UC and CSU remain significantly
below the national average charged by comparable
public universities,” according to a statement
from Governor Gray Davis’ budget proposal.
A fact that the Associated Students Inc.
President Danny Vivian says is subject to
interpretation.
“When you take into consideration the cost
of living in California compared to other
states, the cost at times exceeds other
state institutions,” he said.
Many students in California are angry about
the increase, especially its surprise appearance
in the middle of the school year, the first
mid-year increase since the 1982-83 school
year.
Some students were so angry, that about
150 traveled to Long Beach from all over
the state to rally in front of the Board
of Trustees office in Long Beach during
finals week when the proposed increase was
announced. The trustees who voted on the
issue were sympathetic to the students,
but nonetheless passed the fee increase
Dec. 16 with a 13-3 vote.
According to Vivian, the reason for the
opposition from the students is logical.
“Anytime more money is charged, you limit
the number of people going to school, and
with less people going to school, the less
that will be entering the workforce with
an education,” Vivian said. “A skilled workforce
brings in additional revenue and workers
employed at quality jobs.”
At the Cal State level, one-third of the
money raised by the increase will be used
for financial aid to help students pay for
school, a ratio mandated by the board of
trustees, according to Governor Gray Davis’
budget proposal. Cal Grant awards will also
be increased in order to offset the fee
increase.
According to a Jan. 10 press release from
California Community Colleges Chancellor
Thomas J. Nussbaum, the fees raised from
the increase at the community college level
will go back into the state’s general fund,
with no money at all going back to the schools.
Cal State students must pay the increase
whether they like it or not. According to
Vivian, they would risk having a hold put
on their graduation, or being dropped from
their classes.
“The best solution would have been not to
do it [an increase]. The most appropriate
solution would have been to have an incremental
plan based on the economy to cover the normal
cost of inflation,” said Vivian.
The new fees, voted in by the Cal State
Board of Trustees are effective immediately
as a 10 percent increase of $72 per semester
for undergraduates and a 15 percent increase
of $114 for graduate students.
The cost of college increased all over the
state this year, including at UC campuses
and community colleges after Gov. Gray Davis
announced a $530 million cut to the states
public universities.
“I think it sucks, but I feel that if it
is needed to help our economy recover then
let it be,” Sa Dao, a nursing major said
“Retail is going down, and the job market
is scarce. If the fees are going to make
a positive impact on education then I’m
O.K. with it,” he added.
According to the Governor’s 2003-2004 budget
proposal, fees at UC campuses increased
$135 per quarter, with the increase effective
spring 2003, and the community college fees
more than doubled from $11 a semester to
$24, also starting this spring.
With any increase, students who pay their
own tuition and work at the same time may
find it a struggle.
Khan Tran, a communication studies major
at Orange Coast College says it is an increase
her parents can afford.
“But if it were up to me, I’d cut down on
my units. If you work you would have to
work more to afford it and have less time
to take classes,” Tran said.
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