Student groups lobby against fee increase

Representatives from the Graduate Students Association and the
Undergraduate Students Association Council leave today for northern
California to join lobbying efforts against an expected increase in
student fees next year.

The “No More Tuition Increase” campaign, led by the
University of California Students Association, is aimed at voicing
student opposition to an estimated 35 percent fee increase for
2003-2004.

“We need to remind legislators of the ramifications of
their decision,” said Hanish Rathod, GSA external vice
president and board member of UCSA.

Chris Neal, USAC external vice president, said he hoped the
lobby efforts will be as effective as last year and that the fees
will not go up even in the midst of budget cuts.

Though last year’s legislative lobbying was effective in
preventing a fee increase for the current school year, the UC
Regents decided to increase the spring quarter 2003 fee over the
course of winter break in response to Gov. Gray Davis’
proposed budget cut to the university.

The spring 2003 fee increase meant an additional $135 for
undergraduate and graduate students, while many professional
students faced an even larger increase.

The regents will meet again in May to discuss additional fee
increases for 2003-2004. The meeting, originally scheduled to take
place at UCLA, has been moved to UC San Francisco.

Rathod and Neal, along with other UCSA members and students who
have decided to join in, will be paying visits Monday to
legislators of districts that include UCLA at the State Capitol to
discuss the issue of fee increase.

A rally will take place before the legislative visits on the
south steps of the Capitol.

UCSA members, students from California colleges and
universities, and various student groups will be taking part in the
lobbying process.

The On-Campus Housing Council will also be working on lobbying
against an increase in student housing fees next year.

Preparation for the legislative visits will take place on Sunday
at UC Davis, where there will be presentations of the status of the
UC budget, student fees, UCSA’s own legislative program and
lobbying tips.

Steve Klass, chairman of UCSA, said the goal of the visits is to
discuss with legislators the impact of the fee increase in terms of
cuts in student services.

Services he considers beneficial to students, such as academic
outreach programs, are deeply affected by an average cut of 50
percent across UC campuses, he said.

Klass added that while UC enrollment is expected to go up, there
is a decrease in the general fund allotted to university
education.

The overarching goal of meeting with legislators, he said, is to
discuss “not just fixing the immediate budget problem but
also fixing California’s education as well.”

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