How much higher?
By Kelsey West, a SLAP student at the University of Oregon
On Wednesday June 6th, students from University of Oregon pushed back against new tuition hikes at the University of Oregon. Oregon’s State Board of Higher Education passed tuition hikes for all seven of the state’s public universities. At the University of Oregon there will be a 6.1% tuition increase–resulting in a rise of $500 for in-state students and $1,000 for out of state students.
We gathered at an amphitheater to hear students share their stories and struggle to pay for college. Story after story reiterated the collective narrative that the price of a college education is becoming too much for students to carry. Determined and empowered, we marched to Johnson Hall, the administrative building, to demand a meeting with the school administrators. After chanting outside of the office and voicing our demands, interim University President Robert Berdahl met with a few of the students and agreed to a meeting to discuss tuition and the University’s budget.
As the price of their education, students are left struggling and wondering, “How much higher?” Tuition hikes around the country are reflective of the fact that funding for education is not a political priority. Today, the average student graduates with $25,000 worth of student loan debt. Upon graduation, they face great difficulty finding a job in an economy struggling from recession and unemployment. This leaves students little hope of relieving the economic burden of their education. On June 6th, University of Oregon students voiced powerfully that they were not accepting the fact that the rights and the future of our generation is repeatedly ignored. We must continue to hold the administrators and politicians accountable for their actions and their responsibility to represent students.
