CSULB students protest fee increase
Press Telegram 4/25/07
The California State University Board of Trustees last month approved raising fees for undergraduate students by $252 per year and for graduate students by $312 per year, beginning this fall.
After the increase, the basic university fee for undergraduates will be $2,772 per year. Graduate students will pay $3,414.
In addition to the basic university fee, CSU students pay campus-based fees, averaging $679 annually.
Several CSULB student groups, as well as the California Faculty Association, sponsored Tuesday's event, in which petitions were distributed stating that the fee increase would hurt working-class students' ability to get a college education.
"It's time for us to stand up and fight against this injustice," said CSULB junior Helen Doe, a CFA intern and political science major who helped organize the event.
The group CSU Students for Quality Education, which co-sponsored the event, plans to present the petitions to state legislators during a May visit to Sacramento, said CSULB sophomore Nina Delavin, who also is a CFA intern.
Geoff Leech, a 23-year-old junior who signed the petition, said the impending fee increase will force him to take out a greater-than-expected amount of loans for next academic year.
Leech said the fee increase is unnecessary. "I feel that the prices are good right now," he said.
Dean Toji, an assistant professor in the department of Asian and Asian-American Studies, said that the fee increase will force students to work more hours to make ends meet, cutting into their study time.
"It slows them down and doesn't give them time to concentrate," said Toji, who signed the petition.