Anger and anxiety over fee hike at University of California

The University of California Thursday decided on a 32 percent fee hike to make up for slashed state funding. Student protests flare on campuses.

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Students on the UCLA campus aren't convinced the hikes are necessary.

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"They are wasting money all over this campus with lighting and heating unused facilities," says an international exchange student who wouldn't give his name. "And they won't show us the books to prove they are in this financial mess. It's frustrating, and we just don't believe them."

But California's university subsidies have been declining for some years to below those for other state-subsidized university systems, some observers note.

"Now, there is no way out," says Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. "Worst possible time is during a recession when everyone wants to go back to school. Federal money can't make up the difference and it will be worse next year."

Voters are partly to blame, say others.

"The fee hike is drastic, but where else will the money come from?" asks John Pitney Jr., a politics professor at Claremont McKenna College. "After the state raised taxes this year, voters rejected a measure to extend the tax increases."

Bad time for school fee hikes

Colleges and universities are finding it harder to raise money from alumni and other donors. At the same time, the recession has increased the demand for financial aid.

"Red ink is rising, and so is unemployment. There is no happy ending to this story," says Mr. Pitney.

This is the worst time to be increasing the cost of education, agrees Jessica Levinson, director of political reform at the Center for Governmental Studies.

"The financial well-being of many parents, who would normally be able to help their children pay for college tuition, is now in jeopardy," she says. "Some students and prospective students can only look to themselves in paying for the cost of an education."

However, UC president Yudof has said that families making under $80,000 will continue to be taken care of.

Some of the protesting students at UCLA and UC Davis were arrested Thursday for disturbing the peace. But Yudof says he doesn't blame them.

"I used to be a law professor and I understand that people have a right in a democracy to express themselves," he said, "They are not expected to roll over."

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