As the threat of rising tuition fees continues, a group of
students within UCLA’s School of Law are taking an active
approach to fighting the increases.
The UCLA Law Student Committee Against Fee Increases plans to
bring organizations and students of the UC community as well as
city government officials together to petition against the
fees.
The committee will begin presenting students with the letter
they plan to send to the state Legislature. Their goal is to
collect 500 signatures after three days of petitioning.
A statewide UC Law School Action Day is currently being planned
for March 9.
The Action Day will likely include a rally at the law school,
with students and city and state officials present, said Zachary
Shepard, chairman of the committee.
Though the committee is based within the School of Law, with 18
graduate law students and the Student Bar Association, Shepard said
he wants to involve a variety of organizations and students across
the UC.
“We’re trying to present a united front,” said
J.D. Henderson, president of the Student Bar Association.
In the months before July when the state budget is due, the
committee plans to gather support from the California Bar
Association, community organizations and city councilmembers.
But first, the committee plans to gather support from other
professional programs and the Graduate Student Association.
“One of the most important things is sending a message to
the legislature that the student community isn’t here to be
walked all over,” Shepard said.
The main argument the committee has against the governor’s
budget proposal is fee increases will negatively affect students,
the community and the state, Shepard said.
The proposed fee increases would raise tuition that was just
increased last year.
Both undergraduate and graduates had to grow accustomed to
paying higher student fees when a system-wide fee increase of $135
per quarter took effect in the spring 2003 term. Students in the
professional schools had an additional $150 to $400 increase to
pay.
If the governor’s current budget proposal passes, students
in the professional schools will experience an increase of roughly
$5,000 without the support of financial aid.
“One of the biggest positives of coming to UCLA was
because the price was so cheap,” said Jonathan Delshad,
secretary of SBA.
If fees at UCLA are no longer competitive, prospective students
may be driven away from the School of Law and the program will
suffer, he said.
Some students say they are not bothered by the fee increase and
understand the reasons behind it.
“It’s no doubt going to hurt the school, but cuts
have to be made,” said law student Adam Fraser.
Law students who will make a lot of money with their careers in
the future should be able to cope with the fees, he said.
Henderson said he sees the fee increase as detrimental to
students who will graduate with heavy debt while employed in public
interest careers that do not pay as much as a private practice.
“UCLA is the only public law school in Southern California
and, basically, I don’t think that law school should be a
privilege of the wealthy,” he said.