Hundreds of students from across the state gathered in Bruin Plaza on Sunday to protest the recently proposed state budget cuts and to demand a solution to the rising costs of higher education.
The students were at UCLA as part of the 20th annual Student of Color Conference, which brought together students from each UC campus to talk about issues that face their communities.
Among these issues is the continually rising price of education in California.
“The ongoing fee increases will directly affect historically underprivileged communities,” said Victor Sanchez, a sociology and Latin American studies student at UC Santa Cruz, and a member of the UC Student Association board of directors. “Today’s rally will reinforce the already changing rhetoric that education should be a right and not a privilege.”
In May, the UC Board of Regents approved a 7.4 percent increase in student fees for the 2008-2009 school year.
In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the reduction of UC funding by $15 million, according to a UC press release.
At the protest, students held handwritten pickets signs with messages such as “Freeze fees now” and “Invest in Higher Education,” and listened to speeches from a diverse selection of student leaders.
The speakers included Lucero Chavez, president of UCSA, and D’Artagnan Scorza, student regent and UCLA graduate student.
Chavez addressed the students, noting that the budget for higher education has already been cut three times this year.
“We have seen an increase in fees for the last 10 years. The UC students cannot be the solution to this current economic crisis. We are going to go to the legislation, and we are going to reduce fees,” Chavez said.
In the UC Regents meeting last week, a 9.4 percent increase of student fees was removed from the proposed UC budget. Chavez said this was a victory for the UCSA and that it showed that the regents support UCSA in the struggle to reduce tuition.
Scorza said he agreed and the regents would make sure that the state funds higher education.
“The regents will talk to legislators and work closely with the Office of the President in order to find a solution to the issue,” Scorza said.
This winter, UCSA will be working to reintroduce the College Affordability Act of 2008, which would freeze tuition for five years for resident undergraduate students, according to a UCSA statement.
Chavez said that a proposal would be drafted by February or March, but that UCSA is currently still looking for a sponsor.
For Sam Jung, an international studies and visual arts student at UC San Diego, the issue of increasing fees is a problem that must be addressed.
“Since 2003, tuition has increased 150 percent. The first groups that are going to be disadvantaged by this fee increase are going to be the minority groups,” Jung said. “As a public university, our goal should be to provide equal education for everyone, not just the privileged.”
The protest culminated with a unity march to the Federal Building on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue, where more speeches were made.
Throughout the march, students sang, cheered and encouraged passersby to join in the protest and cars to honk as they drove by.