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Nov 18, 2009 2:13 pm US/Pacific
UC Regents Hike Fees 32 Percent Over 2 Years
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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UCLA students protested outside a regents meeting where a proposed fee hike was approved.
CBS
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UCLA students have gathered outside a regents meeting to protest proposed fee hikes.
CBS
Financially hobbled University of California moved Wednesday to boost student fees by 32 percent over two years as students staged raucous demonstrations against the higher costs.
Fourteen protesters were arrested at a University of California, Los Angeles, meeting where a Board of Regents committee endorsed a plan that will boost undergraduate fees, the equivalent of tuition, by $2,500 in two stages by 2010.
The full board is expected to approve the fee increases Thursday.
With state government facing a nearly $21 billion budget gap over the next year and a half, board members said there was no option to higher fees in light of withering state dollars. University of California President Mark Yudof has said the 10-campus system needs a $913 million increase in state funding next year, in addition to higher student fees.
The meeting was repeatedly interrupted by outbursts from students and union members, who accused the board of turning its back on the next generation.
"We are bailing out the banks, we are bailing out Wall Street. Where is the bailout for public education?" asked UCLA graduate student Sonja Diaz.
Armed officers arrested 14 protesters after they refused to leave the meeting room. As officers approached them, the protesters locked arms and sang the civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome." Others shouted "Shame on you." Some cursed.
Board members pointed out that lower-income families would be shielded from the jump, and financial aid would help others defray the higher cost.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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