UCs hike up price of education
Written by Calvin Ratana, Staff Writer
On November 18, the UC Board of Regents agreed to raise the University of California (UC) tuition rate by 32 percent. A mass of students at UCLA protested the hike when the Regents were having their meeting with 14 students arrested after the protest. Tuition will be increased as a result of major cuts impacting California’s public education system. The UC suffered a loss of support from the state and has been doing all it can to recover from the cuts. The tuition hike will supposedly help fix the economic situation facing the schools.
“Because of the budget cuts, we’re looking at less freshmen being accepted,” College Counselor Sharon Drell said. “This is also due to having to accommodate for the incoming transfer students from community colleges, who have nowhere to go. A lot of people are going to apply to out of state to colleges or to private colleges because of the tuition hike. Private colleges can provide more financial aid because of the money they get from private contributions.”
Drell also offered that to help alleviate the burden of additional cost for the students, the UCs will be looking at bigger class sizes and more online classes.
Senior Jeffery Sirimahachaikul said, “The 32 percent hiike is edging me to want to go to a private college instead, because it has more financial aid to offer and the class sizes are smaller. I also think that it is unfair for the UCs to put so much stress on the students.”
Senior Ross Zelen agreed it is unfair to put a lot of the stress upon the student population.
“I’m afraid of what kind of statement we are making about education and the exclusiveness of college education,” Zelen said. “The UCs pride themselves on being available to admit anyone cost-wise, but making the tuition cost more makes it more privileged, so that only rich people can afford college while people from the middle classes can’t afford the rising cost of college.”
Zelen also offered, “I think it’s really sad that education funds are being cut so rapidly, but the prison funds have not been cut as badly as education.”
With the rise in UC tuition, students may be taking out more student loans. “The cost is already about $20,000 a year, but with the 32 percent hike, it will cost almost as much as a private. If it costs more, then I have to take out more student loans that will take me a long time to pay back,” Sirimahachaikul added.
“The rise in tuition is going to affect my education. At first I thought I can afford two years without having to work part time, but now I’m in the position where I have to take out student loans, and work during freshmen year,” Zelen said.
The situation, according to Drell, is bleak. “We’re looking at more cuts and less freshmen accepted in the future,” Drell said.
Both Zelen and Sirimahachaikul agree the situation will get worse before it can get better. According to Drell, “The past administrators got us into this mess because they had spent so much money instead of saving up.”
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Source: Le Sabre
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