CSU Board of Trustees approves 9 percent tuition hike
Despite student protest
LONG BEACH, Calif.—The California State University Board of Trustees approved a 9 percent tuition hike for the 2012-13 school year today, despite a vocal student protest that disrupted the panel’s meeting as police tried to usher people out of the meeting room.
After the confrontation between students and police erupted, the board members reconvened in a different room and approved the tuition hike on a 9-6 vote. Tuition will increase by $498, meaning undergraduate student fees will go from $5,472 in 2011-12 to $5,970 for 2012-13. With campus-specific fees added in, the total cost for undergraduate students would be just more than $7,000 for the full year.
The increase will be on top of a 12 percent tuition hike that took effect this school year, and a 9 percent increase that was imposed in 2010.
CSU officials said the proposed increase is necessitated by continued cuts in state funding, which they say has been slashed by $650 million in recent years, with another $100 million cut possible next month.
The board, however, was also expected to request an additional $138.3 million in state funding, and if it is approved, would eliminate the need for the boost in tuition.
More than 150 angry protesters descended on the board’s meeting, with most being forced to stand outside due to limited seating in the board’s meeting room. Students and other protesters inside the meeting eventually clashed with police, forcing the board to take a break.
The skirmish between police and protesters eventually led to officers using pepper spray, and a glass door was shattered. At least one officer suffered cuts from the broken glass.
Police in riot gear eventually surrounded the plaza outside the building.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was arrested, although at least three people were handcuffed at the scene.
According to CSU officials, the availability of financial aid will mean about 45 percent of the university system’s students would not be impacted by the tuition hike.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a member of the CSU Board of Trustees, said he opposed the tuition hike.
“We have an obligation to our students and their families to send a strong message to Sacramento that our higher education system and economy cannot meet its potential unless this catastrophic trend is reversed,” he said.
Dozens of students in the California State University (CSU) system recently rallied in protest outside university headquarters in Long Beach where a board meeting was being held to discuss fee increases.
Students were outraged, and took the meeting as an opportunity to speak out and urge officials to find an alternative means to increase revenue at the schools.
LONG BEACH, Calif.—The California State University Board of Trustees today approved a 5 percent mid-year tuition increase and a 10 percent hike for the 2011-12 academic year.
The board's Finance Committee approved the tuition hikes Tuesday during a meeting in Long Beach.
More than 1,500 people—mostly students and community residents—attended a forum on the USC campus Tuesday night to voice concern about recent actions by law enforcement officials where African Americans feel they were racially profiled.
The forum followed a sit-in at the Tommy Trojan statue Monday by USC students upset about how police shut down two parties early Sunday, and arrested six students.
The Black College Expo will return to Los Angeles celebrating 14 years of helping more than 375,000 students get into college and giving away more than $500,000 in scholarships. The expo will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with a celebrity-hosted entertainment segment from 3-5 p.m., which includes a scholarship presentation, high school and fraternity step show, and a surprise artist performance to culminate the day’s event.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—On one of the busiest travel days of the year, thousands of workers descended today on Century Boulevard—the primary route to Los Angeles International Airport—to protest what their union called unfair labor practices by an airport contractor.
With most wearing purple shirts and some toting signs, the union workers gathered at Century and Airport boulevards and then marched west on Century toward Sepulveda Boulevard, under the close watch of police and media.
