Faculty stages rally against fee increase
Bakersfield Californian 4/19/07
For now, students in the California State University system will pay 10 percent more for the 2007-08 school year. The system's board of trustees approved the increase in mid-March.
That means undergraduates taking 6.1 units or more would pay an additional $252, bringing their annual fees to $2,772.
"If this 10 percent (increase) goes through, it goes through because students did nothing about it," said Erica Hernandez, who's part of the CSU Students for Quality Education. "CSUB, this is your chance to say you don't want this fee increase."
She's a criminal justice major, mother of a toddler and works three jobs and worries about access to an affordable, quality education for Cal State students.
The campus chapter of the California Faculty Association sponsored the gathering; it drew about 75 people, including faculty.
Students milling about were urged to sign a petition asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Senate and Assembly leaders to repeal the fee increase.
One student said some classrooms at Cal State Bakersfield are technologically ill-equipped and have heating and cooling issues.
Senior Kenya McCormack said the university is spending money on constructing new buildings and changing its athletics status to Division I.
"It seems the money we're being allocated is being misinvested," she said.
Student Chris Orona said he wants the fee increases to stop. "Make it affordable for everybody to go to school," he said. "Don't force us to quit because we can't afford it."
Associate professor of sociology Gonzalo Santos said Cal State Bakersfield is a working-class campus.
"The decision-makers in Sacramento think they can squeeze students and their families a little bit more," he said.
This year's increase would provide nearly $98 million for the CSU, said Clara Potes-Fellow, a system spokeswoman. One-third of that would go toward financial aid.
To buy out the fee increase entirely, the Legislature would have to provide $65 million in additional funding.
If the increase is eliminated, funds set aside for financial aid would not be required, Potes-Fellow said.