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BERKELEY STUDENTS PROTEST HUGE TUITION INCREASE
CNN - Protesters of a tuition hike at University of California campuses stood their ground into Friday night, with 41 demonstrators at UC Berkeley cited for trespassing after their takeover of a campus building.
Nearly 100 protesters at UC campuses have been arrested over the past two days in the demonstrations over a 32 percent tuition increase.
The demonstrators, students and nonstudents alike, were cited for trespassing, spokeswoman Claire Holmes told CNN. Holmes said those arrested would be cited and released rather than taken to jail, per agreement with student leaders.
University officials said the $505 million to be raised by the tuition increases is needed to prevent even deeper cuts than those already made because of California's persistent financial crisis.
Protesting students said the hike will hurt working and middle-class students who benefit from state-funded education.
The first tuition hike, which takes effect in January, will raise undergraduate tuition to $8,373. The second hike kicks in next fall, raising tuition to $10,302, said university spokeswoman Leslie Sepuka. . .
The January increase of about 15 percent is more than double the average public university tuition hike last year.
Nearly 100 protesters at UC campuses have been arrested over the past two days in the demonstrations over a 32 percent tuition increase.
The demonstrators, students and nonstudents alike, were cited for trespassing, spokeswoman Claire Holmes told CNN. Holmes said those arrested would be cited and released rather than taken to jail, per agreement with student leaders.
University officials said the $505 million to be raised by the tuition increases is needed to prevent even deeper cuts than those already made because of California's persistent financial crisis.
Protesting students said the hike will hurt working and middle-class students who benefit from state-funded education.
The first tuition hike, which takes effect in January, will raise undergraduate tuition to $8,373. The second hike kicks in next fall, raising tuition to $10,302, said university spokeswoman Leslie Sepuka. . .
The January increase of about 15 percent is more than double the average public university tuition hike last year.
2 Comments:
Watch out students. Back in the 1960's cops did not have tasers.
www.unsereuni.at
its all in german, but just have look at what austrian students achieved!!!
we have a large number of universities in Europe occupied,
well fight so hopefully we wont ever get the american way of education.
we wont pay!!
By Peter Phillips
November 22, 2009
Police are arresting and attacking student protesters on University of California (UC) campuses again. “Why did he beat me I wasn’t doing anything,” screamed a young Cal Berkeley women student over KPFA radio on Friday evening November 20. Students are protesting the 32% increase in tuition imposed by the UC regents in a time of severe state deficits. The Board of Regents claims that they have no choice. Students will now have to pay over $10,000 in tuition annually for a public university education that was free only a few decades ago.
The corporate media spins the tuition protests as if we are all suffering during the recession. For example, the San Diego Union Tribune November 20 writes, “These students need a course in Reality 101. And the reality is that there is virtually no segment of American society that is not straining with the economic recession. With UC facing a $535 million budget gap due to state cuts, the regents have to confront reality and make tough choices. So should students.”
Yet, the reality is something quite different. Our current budget crisis in California and the rest of the country has been artificially created by cutting taxes on the wealthiest people and corporations. The corporate elites in the US, the top 1% who own close to half the wealth, are the beneficiaries of massive tax cuts over the past few decades. While at the same time working people are paying more through increased sales and use taxes and higher public college tuition.
The wealthy hide their money abroad. Rachel Keeler with Dollars & Sense reports that over the years, trillions of dollars in both corporate profits and personal wealth have migrated offshore in search of rock-bottom tax rates and the comfort of no questions asked. Offshore banks now harbor an estimated $11.5 trillion in individual wealth alone, and were a significant contributing factor to the international economic downturn in 2008.
According to the California Budget Project, tax cuts enacted in California, since 1993, cost the state $11.3 billion dollars annually. Had the state continued taxing corporations and the wealthy at rates equal to those fifteen years ago there would not be a budget crisis in California. Even though a budget deficit was evident last year, California income tax laws were changed in February of 2009 to provide corporations with even greater tax savings—equal to over $2 billion per year. California is similar to the rest of the country where the wealthy and corporate elites enjoy economic protection through increased costs to working people.
http://911truth.org/article.php?story=20091123025555500
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