Berkeley Students Protest Student Fee Hike

(AP)  Students barricaded themselves inside buildings on University of California campuses to protest a 32 percent increase in student fees and budget cuts that have led to slashed programs and lost jobs.

Demonstrators at UC Berkeley occupied Wheeler Hall on Friday and hung a sign from a window that read "32 Percent Hike, 900 layoffs," with the word "Class" crossed out in red. A group of students also rallied outside the building.

Campus police said they had arrested three of the demonstrators inside.

Police would not say how many protesters remained in the building. University police Lt. Alex Yao said demonstrators were barricaded behind fire doors on the second floor, but police had control of the rest of the building.

The Daily Californian student newspaper said it received a text message from a protester in the building who put the number still inside at 60 undergraduates and graduate students.

The occupiers were demanding the university rehire laid-off custodial workers and give amnesty to anyone arrested in the protest.

At UC Santa Cruz, Provost David Kliger said a group of students was blocking exits at Kerr Hall, which houses science departments and administrative offices.

Kliger said he would not consider the students' demands until they cleared the obstructions.

About 30 to 50 protesters staged a takeover of Campbell Hall at UCLA on Thursday, as regents met across campus to approve the fee hike. More than 50 students were arrested during protests at UC Davis.

Regents say they had to raise fees because the cash-strapped state government can't meet the university's funding needs.

[excalifornian]

First I have to say something is wrong with this website. I posted my comments but do not appear.

Second the students in the UC system have to wake up the reality of cost. The students in the rest of the country with a comparative standard of UC system are paying $12,000 to $14,000 per year in tuition. The UC regent have not been raising your fees for decades and they are trying to catch up with the rest of the country. IT increase to $8000 next semester and $10,000 next fall. Helloo...you are still less than the rest of us. That 32 % means nothing....it only means you guys have been enjoying low cost and still dreaming. Where were your parents and where are their votes when Arnold want to revise proposition 13 so it can help you pay your tuition. You do not pay toll for roads while the rest of the country do. Nothing is FREE. Stop whining.

[theskeptical1]

Here are a couple of questions for all you Berkeley students who are so outraged over the huge increase in your tuition costs:

Were you in favor of all the generous "social programs" into which the state of California has been recklessly pouring millions of your parents' tax dollars? Did the steadily increasing tax burden on them and the business community ever generate any concern on your part?

Did you think that it was just such a wonderful idea to bow down at the altar of multi-culturalism by giving those nice fat tuition breaks to all those illegal immigrants?

Well you are now learning a lesson which is obviously not part of the curriculum at U.C. Berkeley; namely, that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Any government which continues to p|ss away money due to social and budgetary irresponsibility will eventually run out of same. And then someone gets stuck with the bill.

Welcome to the adult world, kids, and the concept of "consequences". Another term for it is "payback", and you know what they say about payback -- it's a B|TCH.

[bcm318]

the sad truth is that KUWAITE ,who we fought GULF war 1 for ((WHO SUB CONTRACTED OUR MILITARY FORCE )),APPRECIATES its citizen and the KINGDOM looks out for its subjects;by 1)no-one pays TAXES;state,federal etc;2) they receive FREE medical from birth til death;3)they receive free education including a 4 year college;they pay 30 cents for a gallon of gas;they receive a marriage gift from the KING of 15,000 $;and at the end of the year they get a check from the KING who shares his nations wealth w/its people;meanwhile all we do is take half our money 750 billion A YEAR and conquer the world so our corporation can outsource all our jobs;no wonder EU now surpasses us in the standard of living yet it look worse than any of our ghettos;;yet we have more ghetto,s and tent cities;so you spoiled brat kids be sure to thank your teachers for educating you to be the children of PHAROH;;now run along work at MCDONOLDS w/your PHD;pay your student loans,your war taxes;and be rip off by corporate American in lower wages,stolen benefits and pension,and watch yourself become homeless when you are 65 and remember JESUS loves u ! :)

[sohighschool]

Oh yes, thanks for the enlightenment. We don't know anything about government corruption or a high costs of living in New Jersey.

[6591Hou]

California is financially broke, if your education was dependant on state funds then your education plan is broke too. Protesting is your right, but you don't have a right to more state money when there isn't any.
Calling for the firings of school administrators and pay cuts for tenured professors in order to give you another semester isn't going to fix the fact that California pays out more than it takes in. If you want a real solution, raise taxes and cut back on benefit payouts.

[burneb]

Protesting is a guaranteed right, but regardless of the cause, occupying campus buildings to deny their legitimate use is still ILLEGAL, just like the 1960's. Amnesty for those students is the sure way to encourage more illegal barricades at public expense.

A 32% fee hike plus staff layoffs is admittedly pretty stiff, but the students who have spoken publicly sure sound like spoiled kids who want to be the sacred cows that don't share any of everyone's pain in a budget crises, or take responsbility for their illegal actions.

When student fees cover a relatively small portion of a college's total costs, even a modest cut in State support equals a sizeable jump in tuitions.

[mcomar]

I am shocked by the insensitivity and blatant rudeness of these comments calling Berkeley students "cry babies," "spoiled," and "elite privileged." I am currently a student at Berkeley and I am neither a cry baby, spoiled, or an elite privileged. True there are those students but those are not the ones standing up for the cost of their education. A lot of the students, including myself, have worked incredibly hard to get a top notch education from one of the top public universities in the nation. I pay for my own tuition so yes a 32 percent hike is going to be frustrating and yes we will vocalize and express our anger at the increase. It is not just the extra tuition that we will have to pay, teachers will loose their jobs and classes will be cut. The brave students that are protesting for their earned right to be a student at Berkeley and are taking ownership for their education. They are fighting for what is theirs, for what they worked so hard for.

[sohighschool]

Try living in New Jersey where in state tuition is 17,000 for Rutgers. Rutgers is a good school. However, Ten grand for up to 36 credits a year is a major bargain for the top public university in the country and one of the best universities in the world. The students there should be bright enough to figure that out. Quit your belly aching and remember the original free speech movement was started to be able to hold speeches about Mississippi freedom summer where students were trying to achieve sufferage for those who had been denied in the South because of their race. There is no comparision in the nobility department with this protest.

[Overruled1]

Don't you compare your low rent area university and to living in the area of the U.C. system of colleges.
The cost of living is incredibly high and many have tried to move here but ended up returning home because of it.
To top it off the university system itself in California is run secretly without Government and has been suspected of embezzelment, criminal conspiracy,and union busting, all the while the State government is powerless to audit the system books.
There are bills in the legislature to take control from the UC Regents and put it in the hands of California, but I doubt it will pass because of the corruption...example, the governor is a regent.
BTW, that new water board the governor championed will be as corrupt as the Alaska committees set up to oversee the oil pipelines....all members were elected by the oil interests instead of the people...just like a regent system.

[cockroachcrusher]

Hey, this is the Generation of It's All About Me. Taking over buildings on behalf of themselves, the new poor and oppressed, privileged college students. Sorry times.

Don't feel sorry for you as you all sat around while Bush/Cheney were attacking our Constitution. How about the poor people without health care? No, you wouldn't take over any building for that, because it's not about you. No demonstrations for abused and overworked janitors. How about the American oil robber barons and people doing without sufficient heat? No, you have enough heat.

We know, in your free time you're too busy with your beer busts and planning how you can have even more fun; poor babies, poor CRY BABIES!

[Overruled1]

Your statement is behind the times and should not apply to todays' UC university kids, they are usually 4.0 students and work very hard to achieve for themselves and for us all...not to say they don't know how to party..there is that in every college.
There are some kids that aren't hurt by the increases because they are "privledged to be rich", but I swear to you they work just as hard in the class room and respect those not as lucky to be so fortunate.

[louiville35]

Hey a "Liberal" education is expensive, just chalk it up to helping the six figure tenured less fortunate.