Dear UCLA campus community,
I would like to thank every member of our community – undergraduates, graduates, faculty and workers – for partaking in any of our efforts to combat the tuition policy voted on by a University of California Board of Regents committee at its meeting on Nov. 20.
It is important to note that tuition has not increased yet. The new tuition policy binds the implementation of a tuition increase of 5 percent for each of the next five years to state funding to the UC. Therefore, if the state allocates enough money to the UC for the 2016 fiscal year, we will see no increase in tuition next year. We can stop the tuition hikes by shifting some of our attention to Gov. Jerry Brown and advocating for more funding to the UC.
It is a shame that UC President Janet Napolitano and the UC Regents ignored the outcry of students, but the passage of the tuition policy does not mean we have been defeated. Rather, it is our cue to fight harder for a more affordable and accessible university.
The Office of the External Vice President will take on a two-pronged approach that addresses both the state government and UC administration.
First, we will lobby our district representatives and pressure Gov. Brown to allocate the UC more funding. In providing solutions, we will have a collaborative effort between two of our campaigns, Fund the UC and Invest in Graduation Not Incarceration, Transform Education, to decrease prison spending and increase funding for higher education. The peak of our efforts will be during the Student Lobby Conference and May Lobby Day, two conferences hosted by the University of California Student Association, where we bring UCLA students to Sacramento to create a powerful presence with other UC students.
Second, we will hold the UC Office of the President and the UC Regents accountable by advocating for the state to review the finances of the university. Too often, students have rallied around issues only to be ignored by our decision-makers. This is a first step in gaining momentum to create structural reforms within the leadership of the UC.
While Gov. Brown and the state legislature are our clear and main targets to fight the tuition hike and to advocate for more funding to the UC, we cannot ignore Napolitano’s and the UC Regents’ disregard for the student voice. Chancellor Block also failed to listen to students, after numerous meetings and protests asking him to rescind his support for the tuition policy. This is our university and we demand more accountability and transparency from the people who make decisions that directly affect our education.
The initiatives of the EVP office are open to all students and allies. Many students and student groups independent of the office have also been organizing around this issue. The EVP office would like to encourage everyone to participate in any way that they can to amplify their Bruin voice and create tangible change for all students.
Contreras is a fourth-year human biology and society and Asian American studies student and the external vice president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council.