$12,000 a year. $48,000 for 4 years. That’s how much our tuition alone will cost come next fall quarter. And all because 17 out of the 18 UC Regents who represent the UC system decided to have a mid-year 32% tuition hike and place the burden on the backs of struggling students. Let’s look at some of the facts.

UC Regent President Yudof gets paid a little less than $900,000 a year. Most of the people who are UC Regents are wealthy businesspeople, generally CEOs or COOs of large multimillion companies. They know how to do business, and thus run institutions like the UC system as such.

But the UC system is not a business. It is a community, it is a learning center, a place where students and faculty are supposed to be able to interact, learn, and create. After all, the UCs are some of the leading reserach institutions in the country.

This past week, the UC Regents met at Covel Commons at UCLA for their bi-monthly meeting in order to vote on the proposed 32% tuition hikes. On Wednesday, about 300 UCLA students came together to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed mid year hikes. Students, faculty, and union workers were allotted 40 minutes for public comment, which is the time audience members inside the Regents meeting can use to express their concerns or opinions. During this time, student after union worker after professor after student came up to the microphone to plead with the Regents and challenge them to find another way to deal with the UC budget deficit. Tears were shed, testimonies were given, and many of the Regents hardly looked up at the faces who were reaching out to them.

By the end of the meeting, 14 students were arrested and 3 students were tasered by police. On Thursday, the Regents decided to increase our fees and place the financial burden on us- the students. They decided that the students will have to pay more tuition for a worsening education. This is something that will affect each and every one of us as part of the UC system. Even if you have the money to pay for these tuition hikes, think about the legacy of the UC that you are leaving behind. Think about the future image of the UC- the lack of diversity, lack of experiences, lack of engaging and interesting professors who actually care about our education. Think about all of the elementary, middle school, and high school students who will not even consider going to a UC Univeristy because it is no longer affordable nor accessible. Please think about this, because our UC Regents have obviously not.

Peaceful Protest at Regents Meeting 11/18, 11/19

Check out this video with real footage from the protests last week:

UC Regents Meeting Protest