and approved a plan to raise undergraduate fees — the equivalent of tuition — 32 percent next fall, hundreds of students from campuses across the state demonstrated outside, beating drums and chanting slogans against the increase.
– Student protesters chanted “Shame on you! Shame on you!” on the UCLA campus today as the University of California board of regents approved a whopping 32% tuition hike. A year at a UC school—not including room and board—will now cost $10,300, three times the price in 1999. The moves comes as the university system struggles with draconian cuts in funding from the state's strapped government. After the demonstrators learned of the decision, many told the LA Times they worried about having to drop out. “I’m on my own,” said one student. “I can’t ask my family. In this economy, no one is stable.” The state cut its funding for the 10-campus system by 20%, or $813 million, this year, notes the New York Times.