The University of California Board of Regents is facing a swell of student backlash over a proposal to raise tuition and decrease the percentage allocated for financial aid. Students from all nine UC campuses are gearing up for protests as the regents convene in Westwood to vote on the measure, as per a report by KTLA. The current proposal has spurred discussions due to the potential impact on those attempting to access higher education, where the UC Student Association has voiced strong opposition, emphasizing that "Higher education is for everyone," underscoring the hardship increased tuition costs would visit upon low-income, middle-class, and first-generation students.
As outlined by ABC7, the contentious plan could lead to tuition hikes capped at 5% yearly, based on inflation — a scale back from a previously considered 7% cap. This would extend the Tuition Stability Plan introduced in 2021, though the new proposal would reduce the slice of the tuition pie dedicated to financial aid, from 45% to 40%. And even before the wedge of the meeting had been driven, students from nine campuses of the UC had firmly aligned themselves against it.
While officials from the UC system have stated that the proposed changes aim to serve the student body, there is an overwhelming police and private security presence reported at UCLA by KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos, making the venue "no longer accessible to members of the public." The protest also coincides with a two-day strike by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, alleging unfair contract negotiations with the UC, a statement from the Daily Bruin reveals.
A demonstration on Tuesday saw around 150 protesters rallying across the UCLA campus, with organizations like the UC Divest Coalition at UCLA voicing a broader set of demands, including divestment from weapons manufacturers and the abolishment of on-campus policing. As told the Daily Bruin, marchers connected their protest to International Students Day and aligned themselves with other movements, chanting slogans such as, "From Palestine to Mexico, these border laws have got to go!" Despite the fact that the actions technically violated UCLA's Time, Place, and Manner restrictions, "Each time we asked the groups to either lower the sound or move to a different area, they complied," said Steve Lurie, the associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety.
The convergence of student protests and worker strikes highlights the tense climate around the issues of education affordability and labor rights within the UC system. Further updates are expected as the UC Board of Regents continues to meet and students and workers continue to make their voices heard.
