Students storm UCLA building to protest expected UC system fee increase [Updated]

About 30 students stormed UCLA’s Campbell Hall and barricaded the doors with chains and bike locks early this morning to protest a student fee increase that is expected to be endorsed by the University of California’s Board of Regents today.

[Updated at 8:39 a.m.: The UC Regents have started to meet, and hundreds of students have surrounded the building, protesting the proposed fee hike.]

Students who spent the night were sprawled outside Campbell Hall in sleeping bags. They carried posters and signs that read, “Don’t take our education away” and “Don’t privatize, democratize.” Many wore bandannas over their faces.

Dozens of other students spent the night camped out in tents on top of Parking Structure 4. Hundreds of other students are expected to join the protesters and demonstrate at the UC Regents meeting that will take place later today.

The proposed two-step student fee increase would raise UC undergraduate education costs more than $2,500, or 32%.The annual cost of a UC education, not including campus-based fees would rise to $10,302.

Kyle Tramberly, a junior at UC San Diego, said he did not sleep since arriving at UCLA late Wednesday night.

“I’m here in solidarity with people across the state of California that are being subjugated to these outrageous fee increases,” he said. “I can’t afford the fee increases, personally. I have to take out private loans in order to cover this. It’s completely unjust to put the burden on students.”

A key committee of the UC Regents backed the two-step hike Wednesday, despite appeals from students who urged the board to at least postpone a vote. About 500 student and labor-union activists demonstrated outside the meeting. Fourteen were arrested.

-- My-Thuan Tran

Photo: Students march in front of Covel Commons at UCLA, where regents will be voting on a fee increase later in the day. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Audio: Statement from demonstrators

More photos  >>

Comments

[G.G.]

Here's an idea. If you cant afford UCLA, how about one of the Cal State colleges? Cant afford that? How about going to a community college to get your AA degree first. Cant afford that? Well then maybe you'll think twice before voting for a 20 billion dollar high speed train. Or maybe now you can see that billions of dollars we spend on illegals could be used for your education. Nothing is free in this world and eventually somebody has to pay the bill.

[Cgopat]

I'm subsidizing Chicano Studies degrees?? I want a refund on my taxes!!

[Xavier]

(FROM BERKELEY) INFORM YOURSELVES : The 26 UC Regents (not including campus administrators) each earn $500,000-$700,000, and receive CEO “bonuses” (i.e. lavish stipends for living/travel expenses), while most professors in my math department are making $30k per year. The administrators try to operate our University like another Ford Corporation, asking for salary increases each year, while at the same time declaring that the UC system is in a financial crisis.

It is sickening, and if you opt for getting loans, then it only validates this mutation of public education. Loans=Conformity.

[UCLA student]

I woke up to this protest outside my window, and reading some of these comments, had to laugh at some of the assumptions people automatically make about college students.

"Education is a privilege." "Don't come expecting a free ride." "Just get a job, and stop sponging off your parents."

We are college students attending a public university-- an internationally ranked, prestigious public university, that many chose with the understanding that they would receive a top-ranked education that is considerably more affordable than that of a private university. Considering the efforts that UCLA goes to in promoting diversity, and the number of low-income students attending, I'd say a good percentage of the students here already have taken out loans, won grants, scholarships and are holding down jobs in order to pay for their education. At a time when the economy is in recession, and these grants, loans, and jobs are hardest to come by, these hikes become all the more difficult to pay for-- hardly because we're all lazy, wealthy, and apparently ridiculously entitled.

The UC system educates some of the best of the students in California. These are the people who become future leaders in the state and nation, and it's extremely disenheartening that people think that this sort of education should only ever be available to those with the money to afford it, not those who have worked hard enough to become eligible for admission to a school like UCLA.

Good job investing in your future, CA.

[ex-student]

I had to work very hard just to get a 2 year degree
It took all I had, but I have a good job now and I paid
all the fees in full.

A few of my family members that have finished a 4 year
Education, half are unemployed, (in debit 30K or more)

So what I understand is that a 4 year university is not providing what it is charging, and asking students to pay more is a joke.

[UC '09 Alum]

Based off of the high volume of user comments that refer to UC student protestors as "punks," "kids," and "entitled whiners," makes it clear to me that the general public is either:

1) uninformed of the full implications of further increasing tuition to the state's research universities (which include all 10 campuses, and not just UCLA), or
2) ignorant to the role that education plays in the economic and social advancement of our state and our country.

The University of California is the ONLY public research university system that serves the people of California. As such, its ten campuses are sites where students and faculty engage in the most important function of a state--the creation of new knowledge. Shocking as it may seem, all disciplines--from biochemistry to Women's Studies--participate in epistemological questioning, data creation and synthesis, and application and analysis. These contributions to the body of knowledge translate into policy decisions, technological innovations, and health care advances for all people of the state. The benefits produced by the University are not solely enjoyed by students.

Historically, access to knowledge production has been reserved to the elite classes, bringing with it a disproportionate amount of power for the ruling class and reproducing class inequality. Students of low-income and of historically marginalized backgrounds have only recently gained access to the University. Increasing tuition not only decreases affordability, but restricts accessibility. All California residents--both legal and undocumented--pay into the state and into the public UC system. All California residents--both legal and undocumented--are impacted by the advancements made by the UC. Should not all California residents, then, have access to participating in knowledge production at the UC?

Finally, education should not bee foolishly equated with vocational training, though a specialized workforce is one outcome of more schooling. A liberal arts education (i.e. a holistic university instruction) has consequences that impact ALL aspects of public life for ALL of society. For instance, increased education decreases crime, increases health and quality of life, increases civic participation, and decreases reliance on state-funded social welfare programs. Advances made by individuals, and knowledge produced by faculty and students, benefits the public good (and yes, that includes YOU).

Rather than spout off a few insults at UC student protestors, think about what they are protesting. You will find that they have thought critically, analytically, and holistically about the problem presented by UC Regents trying to package a UC education as a market commodity that should be privatized.

The real shame is that the general public and elected officials do not engage in such complex reasoning as UC college "kids" do.

[Grace Carroll]

The tuition is already a great deal- they have no idea! If they are that clueless- should we really invest further in those individuals? Are these our best and brightest???

[John Loh]

In this difficult economy, I do not believe that the UC Regents have the student's best interest in mind. Many students attending state schools come from families that struggle to make ends meet. This struggle is compounded during the recession.

I think the students, staff and faculty of all UC campuses should organize a sit out. Skip a day of school/work and show the UC Regents that they need to have the student's best interest when making decisions like these.

[Kelley Fitzgerald]

I agree with Mr. Richardson, we are not entitled to anything, particularly from the government. I too am a college student, currently enrolled at Penn State University, which is also a state school with a tuition of close to 16,000 dollars a year. We face rate hikes every year of around 6% which is still considerable lower than this "outrageous" amount they now must pay. I personally have student private loans, which I understand I must pay after graduation, which only serves as more motivation to find employment.

All I have to say to my "fellow" college students is; grow up.

[William Cook]

I am outraged! Not more than two months ago the President tried to capture a nationwide audience for an address directed to the students of America. This address sponsered higher education and developing a stronger workforce through the means of higher education.
What kind of messages are UCLA and related bureaucracies conveying to future students, hiking tuition by nearly one third?
That when things get bad the students will pay. That only the rich and priveliged have seats in our higher education institutions. And if you make it to college, we might leave you with an empty poridge bowl in the long run.

[Chuck]

Let's see this from another angle. 1)Make these students get a second job? from where? 2) A recent graduate can expect to earn about 12.00 (dollars) per hour. Is getting an education worth it? Is it still feasible to pay the whore (university) money for nothing?

[GetReal]

I have two children at private universities and it's costing me almost $80,000 a year.

Why should I have to subsidise UC students at their socialised universities as well?

When you help pay my fees then I'll help pay yours.

[Baffled Observer]

Hmmm...apparently I missed the day they protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or the takeover of our government by the new American Aristocracy. Or gun violence, environmental degradation, homelessness, foreclosures, or torture of political prisoners. Or anything else that wasn't all about them.

[Baffled Observer]

Hmmm...apparently I missed the day they protested the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Or the takeover of our government by the new American Aristocracy. Or gun violence, environmental degradation, homelessness, foreclosures, or torture of political prisoners. Or anything else that wasn't all about them.

[Nureet Cohen]

What is going on? Especially today, in this economy, we need to keep fees down. Is this the "CHANGE" Obama promised us?

[Trojan Dan]

30 years ago, it cost me $7,000 a year to attend USC. To pay for the tuition I worked 20 hours+ a week and I got student loans (all of which I paid back). I can't beleive that today, it only cost $10,000 a year to attend a UC school. It sounds like a great bargain to me!

Fight On!

[Jay]

The problem is that the fees have jumped so abruptly, it has not been gradual. I doubt any of these students have budgeted an extra $2500 for fees for next year. It is a little late to start saving up. And in this economy?

[GetReal]

You cannot expect to keep bleeding taxpayers indefinitely.

If you are not prepared to invest in your own education then why should the rest of us be forced to foot the bill?

[Greg Kerr]

Poor devils. It was free when my brother and I attended in the 1960s.

[GetReal]

Kyle Tramberly, a junior at UC San Diego, said. “I can’t afford the fee increases, personally. I have to take out private loans in order to cover this. It’s completely unjust to put the burden on students.”

Why?

Why is it unjust to put the burden on students yet it's ok to put the burden on hard-pressed taxpayers?

[La times reader]

BY BY CALIFORNIA! I CAME HERE TO GET A VERY GOOD EDUCATION, IT WAS MUCH EASIER TO GET A VERY GOOD, IF NOT THE BEST EDUCATION ONE CAN GET FROM ANYWHERY IN THE COUNTRY. I PAID BACK MORE THAN A HUNDRED TIMES IN TAXES AND OTHER FEES TO THE CA STATE OVER THE YEARS...

THE STATE MADE THE BEST INVESTMENT THAT IT EVER MADE TO PEOPLE LIKE US...GOT A GOOD EDUCATION AND PAID BACK TO THE STATE MORE THAN 100 TIMES...

NOW, THE IDIOT POLITICIANS, INCLUDING THE BOARD OF REGENTS, WHO ARE A BUNCH OF POLITICAL APPOINTEES...REALLY TRULY CUTTING THE LIFE OF THE STATE'S FUTURE...

THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS STATE TO SURVIVE IN THIS COMPATITIVE WORLD...

I MYSELF HAD ENOUGH WITH THIS STATE'S POLITICIANS AND GREEDY SELF SERVING IDIOTS...

I GUESS THAT IS WHY IM PLANNING TO LEAVE THE STATE...FOR GOOD...NO HOPE FOR THIS AS I CAN SEE...SPEND MONEY ON EVERY SOCIALIZED PROGRAM, BUT ON EDUCATION...ITS TOO "EXPENSIVE" TO INVEST FOR THE STATE'S FUTURE...THAT IS WHY BUSINESSES ARE LEAVING THIS AND MORE UNEMPLOYMENT THAN OTHER STATES!

MY GUESS IS IN ABOUT 5-10 YEARS, THIS STATE WILL BE NO BETTER THAN MS, LA, or AL TN,ETC.

GOODBYE TO A FUTURELESS HOME STATE...MY ONCE BELOVED STATE..

LA TIMES READER

[La times reader]

BY BY CALIFORNIA! I CAME HERE TO GET A VERY GOOD EDUCATION, IT WAS MUCH EASIER TO GET A VERY GOOD, IF NOT THE BEST EDUCATION ONE CAN GET FROM ANYWHERY IN THE COUNTRY. I PAID BACK MORE THAN A HUNDRED TIMES IN TAXES AND OTHER FEES TO THE CA STATE OVER THE YEARS...

THE STATE MADE THE BEST INVESTMENT THAT IT EVER MADE TO PEOPLE LIKE US...GOT A GOOD EDUCATION AND PAID BACK TO THE STATE MORE THAN 100 TIMES...

NOW, THE IDIOT POLITICIANS, INCLUDING THE BOARD OF REGENTS, WHO ARE A BUNCH OF POLITICAL APPOINTEES...REALLY TRULY CUTTING THE LIFE OF THE STATE'S FUTURE...

THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE OF THIS STATE TO SURVIVE IN THIS COMPATITIVE WORLD...

I MYSELF HAD ENOUGH WITH THIS STATE'S POLITICIANS AND GREEDY SELF SERVING IDIOTS...

I GUESS THAT IS WHY IM PLANNING TO LEAVE THE STATE...FOR GOOD...NO HOPE FOR THIS AS I CAN SEE...SPEND MONEY ON EVERY SOCIALIZED PROGRAM, BUT ON EDUCATION...ITS TOO "EXPENSIVE" TO INVEST FOR THE STATE'S FUTURE...THAT IS WHY BUSINESSES ARE LEAVING THIS AND MORE UNEMPLOYMENT THAN OTHER STATES!

MY GUESS IS IN ABOUT 5-10 YEARS, THIS STATE WILL BE NO BETTER THAN MS, LA, or AL TN,ETC.

GOODBYE TO A FUTURELESS HOME STATE...MY ONCE BELOVED STATE..

LA TIMES READER

[Jess]

Why didn't the LAPD lay the smackdown on the protestors??

Ohhhhh, right. Too far to the West.. Oh well. Next time.

[Barbara Dayan]

The immaturity of college students who think their education is a gift from Santa Claus is astonishing. It’s about time students begin to contribute more of their own money to their education instead of expecting California taxpayers to subsidize such a large portion of their tuition. Grow up you spoiled brats!

[Art]

Billions go to the banks and wall street, while education suffers. Every idiot out there is blaming the governor or Obama. No one is looking at what happened in the past that cuased this, they are just lookinng to blame anyone and everyone. These kids have the right to get a good education. With high unemployemnt how are they supposed to get a second job, when there are no jobs.