Students protest UC tuition hike proposal

This post was updated on Nov. 18 at 6:30 p.m.

More than 150 students marched through campus and held a sit-in at the chancellor’s office Tuesday to protest a recent University proposal that could raise tuition by up to 5 percent annually for the next five years.

Students held signs that read “Fund our future, not your paycheck” and repeated chants criticizing the University of California for what some students said is a misallocation of funding. They especially criticized the University’s decision to raise the salaries of some UC chancellors by up to 20 percent in September.

The UC has said the increases are necessary to keep the University at pace with inflation and competitive with similar institutions that offer higher salaries.

“Those chancellors have not had a raise in seven years,” said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein. “Senior managers make less than 1 percent of our payroll.”

The protest, organized by the Undergraduate Students Association Council’s External Vice President’s office, was part of a UC Student Association statewide day of action. The day of action comes just before the UC Board of Regents is set to discuss and vote on the tuition proposal Wednesday at UC San Francisco.

UCSA is planning additional student action in preparation for the regents’ vote. Kevin Sabo, UCSA board chair, said he anticipates between 300 and 400 students to be present at UCSF. He said the organization seeks a tuition rollback in the long run.

“Revenue is returning to California and (the state) is posting budget surpluses, yet we have not returned to pre-recession funding for the UC,” Sabo said.

Some students said they think the proposal would further what they called the privatization of the University.

“What we are beginning to see are underlying ways of how the University actually functions,” said Todd Lu, a second-year political science student and the research coordinator of the Student Collective Against Labor Exploitation at UCLA. “University operations are being turned over to individuals from the corporate sector who govern the University as a business.”

Students at the UCLA School of Law also held a protest in front of the law building Tuesday.

“Ain’t got no money to burn, we’re here to learn,” chanted about 40 law students who gathered on the front steps of the law school, strumming ukuleles and wearing green for solidarity.

The protest was organized by the Student Bar Association’s academic committee, but many different law school groups were also present, including La Raza Law Students Association and the Black Law Students Association.

A tuition increase would depend on how much funding the state gives to the UC. Gov. Jerry Brown, a UC regent, is opposed to the increase, saying his multiyear budget plan already allocates a 4 percent increase in state funding to the UC for next year. Brown has called for a tuition freeze until 2017.

The UC has said it thinks a tuition increase may be necessary because it does not believe the state has met the UC’s funding needs in recent years, especially following the recession. Though Brown has allocated additional funding to the UC over the past three years, the University has said the increases were insufficient.

Brown is at an impasse with UC President Janet Napolitano and all 10 chancellors of the UC schools, including Chancellor Gene Block, who expressed support for the tuition increase in a joint letter.

“The plan calls on the state to fully invest in our students, allowing campuses like ours to put even more funds toward important priorities like smaller class sizes,” Block said in a separate letter supporting the tuition hike.

Some students at the External Vice President’s office’s march and sit-in said they think the tuition hike proposal would lessen student diversity at the UC, since lower-income students might struggle more to afford tuition.

“As an African-American female, I already do not see people who look like me in my classes,” wrote Erin Harris, a first-year chemistry student, in a letter to Block delivered at the protest. “UCLA was always my dream school. Don’t make it a nightmare.”

According to the UC, about 55 percent of UC students have their full tuition covered through financial aid.

UCSA started a petition on Nov. 12, demanding that the UC Board of Regents vote against the tuition hike. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 9,600 people have signed the petition.

Some students at the law school rally said they think the tuition increase proposal comes at a time when law students are already struggling financially because of student debt. More than 80 percent of UCLA’s law students graduate with an average debt of about $114,963, according to U.S. News and World Report.

“Now is not the right time to ask students to pay more,” said Eean Boles, a third-year law student and president of the Student Bar Association.

Some students said they were concerned with what they called a lack of transparency in the UC’s proposal to increase tuition.

“It’s like a slap in the face,” said Geneva Thompson, a second-year law student and one of the rally organizers. “It’s one thing to increase tuition, but it’s another to leave students out of the discussion.”

The law school administration acknowledged the students’ rights to freedom of speech and assembly but said it still supports the tuition proposal.

“We support the president’s new long-term stability plan for low, predictable tuition that will provide funding to allow us to maintain our ongoing commitment to access and excellence in academics, research and public service,” said Rachel Moran, dean of the UCLA School of Law, in a statement Tuesday.

Napolitano said that she has talked with students about the possibility of a tuition increase multiple times while in office.

Conrad Contreras, USAC external vice president, said his office is sending about 30 to 40 students to the UC Regents meeting Wednesday. He said he expects hundreds of students from UC campuses to protest against the tuition hike.

Compiled by Jeong Park, Rafael Sands, Eliza Blackorby and Arthur Wang, Bruin senior staff. Contributing reports from Erin Donnelly, Bruin senior staff.