Protest against fee increase set at CSUCI
Ventura Star 1/19/07
"Our policy states that we oppose any fee increases," said Nadir Vissanjy, a student at Sonoma State University who chairs the California State Student Association.
The association is composed of student government leaders from each of CSU's campuses, including CSUCI's Camarillo campus. Vissanjy said the association adopted a policy against fee increases in November because its mission is to make CSU accessible and affordable and provide a quality education to all students.
"We believe that a fee increase would not help make CSU more accessible to students," Vissanjy said.
Under Schwarzenegger's proposed tuition increase, CSU student fees would go from $2,520 a year to about $2,772. University of California students would also have an increase, paying about $6,571 a year, roughly $430 more than they pay now.
Any fee increase would first have to be approved by trustees at both CSU and the UC, something that could happen in March.
Vissanjy said CSU student leaders plan to have representatives from each CSU campus contact state legislators in the weeks and months to come to express their opposition to any fee increase. Representatives will also ask lawmakers to provide the universities with more money, making a fee increase unnecessary.
The fee increases are part of a long-term funding agreement Schwarzenegger made with CSU and UC in 2004.
However, students avoided a fee increase last year after the state provided funding to offset the revenue that would have come from a fee increase. Such an offset would cost taxpayers about $135 million this year for the UC and CSU systems.
Passing along a fee increase to students actually ends up costing the state a lot more in lost tax revenue over the long run, Vissanjy said.
He cited a 2004 study showing that for every dollar the state invests in the CSU system it receives $4.41 in economic activity, including additional payroll taxes. University-trained workers not only add to the state's economic prowess but also enrich its social, intellectual and cultural life, the study found.
Shannon Tucker, a third-year student at CSUCI majoring in business, said she would not necessarily oppose a fee increase as long as the additional money is used to improve services and student life on campus.
When asked what areas she would like to see improvements in, Tucker, 20, said, "I'd like to see more courses offered here and more majors."
Jessica LaRoe, student government president at CSUCI, said students need to be informed about the proposed fee increase.
"We need to know where the money is going," said LaRoe, a fourth-year student at CSUCI, who is majoring in business.
LaRoe said she has paid for her studies at CSUCI through student loans.
"It's a privilege for me to attend a university," said LaRoe, adding she's proud of the fact that she's doing it on her own rather than depending on her family to help cover the costs. She figures she owes $10,000 to $15,000 in student loans so far.
Cassie Silic, 20, of Agoura Hills, lives with her family to help defray the costs of attending CSUCI. Still, Silic said, she sometimes struggles to pay for everything from textbooks to the costs of getting to and from campus.
"It's hard," said Silic, a psychology major.
Despite the struggle, Silic said, the CSU fees are still reasonable, especially when compared to those at a UC or private four-year university.