Everyone that has to pay at least a portion of their tuition has been cringing in financial pain ever since the massive fee increases began. If your tuition is not taken care of by financial aid or otherwise, you̢۪re sure to be feeling the sting of the 32 percent fee increase.
While these fee increases are making it more important to finish a degree not only on time but maybe even a semester early to save money, class cuts are simultaneously making this more difficult to do. These two issues combined make super seniors, like myself, flinch at the thought of not graduating in May of 2010.
Wednesday’s protest definitely shows some promising signs that students are willing to fight for a change of pace in university funding. And while it’s rather refreshing to see students talking about something other than beer pong or pop culture happenings like “balloon boy,â€Â I’m not convinced walking out of class is the right way to go about it.
First of all, we̢۪re halfway through the semester, so unless you have some special agreement with the offices at Joyal, tuition for this semester has already been paid. That boring economics, or violent weather class has already been taken care of: you̢۪re committed to it now.
Walking out of classes that we have already paid for to show the “big guysâ€Â how mad we are makes as much sense as buying a $2,336 TV and shoving it in your garage because you don’t agree with television programming.
The “big guysâ€Â in Fresno or even the folks in their comfy California State University Board of Trustees offices have yet to be rattled by students. We already paid for the damn thing so they know we’re eventually going to come back in from recess and take a seat. More importantly, they know many more people are eagerly waiting to take our places and willing to pay this expensive tuition. But the demand for education should not make sharp tuition hikes acceptable. The CSU system falls in the realm of public education and as such, the price tag cannot match the value if it’s going to remain affordable to the middle class.
What students need to fight for now is allocation, the statewide allocation of funds toward higher education and the allocation of funding within each university. At Fresno State, how efficiently are our existing resources being used within each department? How much money is being spent on things like Nike gear for the athletic department, having a high school on campus, making massive construction changes with the “Master Planâ€Â and for crying out loud, how much money are we losing out on by not selling beer at football games?
Although these issues pertain mostly to Fresno State, if the board of trustees has the power to raise fees by making huge cuts to university budgets, then they should also have the power to strongly advise each school to tighten its belt elsewhere and allocate more money toward academics to prevent future tuition hikes.
President John D. Welty has agreed to meet with students to discuss concerns on Nov. 3 at noon in the Peace Garden. The CSU Board of Trustees̢۪ next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17-18. That will be the time to make our dissatisfaction known. It̢۪s time we give the big guys a ring.
Shannon Scott • Oct 23, 2009 at 3:59 pm
THE PROBLEM I SEE HERE IS THAT THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF STUDENTS CONVINCED THAT THE PROBLEM LAYS SOLEY ON THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THIS IS NOT TRUE.
THE PROBLEM HAS TWO OTHER HUGE COUNTERPARTS: 1) THE CSU SYSTEM (approving of Presidents to have free houses and free cars at the expense of students/faculty) and 2) OUR VERY OWN UNIVERSITY, I shall explain.
We students need to SEE what our university is doing with OUR money. Fresno State is currently building all these projects like CAMPUS POINT, assisted living housing, LUXURY housing, and the strip MALL just like the SAVEMART CENTER at the expense of students/faculty/staff. But guess what? We will not be able to see all these profits or losses until FRESNO STATE OPENS THE BOOKS! and Fresno State has been, is, and will continue building at the expense of us all until we DEMAND that this stops, until we DEMAND that they open up AUXILLARY̢۪s books. This is why it is so crucial that we all understand this for our meeting with Welty on November 3rd 12noon-2pm at the PEACE GARDEN, where President Welty has vowed to meet with us to negotiate our demands. Get informed so these walkouts will not just suffice as a day of complaint but a day of ACTION, a day where RESOLUTIONS are proposed and RESULTS will be implemented.
Shannon Scott • Oct 23, 2009 at 10:59 pm
THE PROBLEM I SEE HERE IS THAT THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF STUDENTS CONVINCED THAT THE PROBLEM LAYS SOLEY ON THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THIS IS NOT TRUE.
THE PROBLEM HAS TWO OTHER HUGE COUNTERPARTS: 1) THE CSU SYSTEM (approving of Presidents to have free houses and free cars at the expense of students/faculty) and 2) OUR VERY OWN UNIVERSITY, I shall explain.
We students need to SEE what our university is doing with OUR money. Fresno State is currently building all these projects like CAMPUS POINT, assisted living housing, LUXURY housing, and the strip MALL just like the SAVEMART CENTER at the expense of students/faculty/staff. But guess what? We will not be able to see all these profits or losses until FRESNO STATE OPENS THE BOOKS! and Fresno State has been, is, and will continue building at the expense of us all until we DEMAND that this stops, until we DEMAND that they open up AUXILLARY’s books. This is why it is so crucial that we all understand this for our meeting with Welty on November 3rd 12noon-2pm at the PEACE GARDEN, where President Welty has vowed to meet with us to negotiate our demands. Get informed so these walkouts will not just suffice as a day of complaint but a day of ACTION, a day where RESOLUTIONS are proposed and RESULTS will be implemented.