Photo Credit: Pete Riches (via flickr.com)

A snapshot of student uprisings against tuition hikes

Kelsey Rideout
Introduction
Every semester, students are forced to think about it. Every so often, students raise concerns about it. Every year, the Ontarion tends to write a piece about it. The affordability of higher education. It’s a timeless dispute that has endured for generations amongst campuses across the world. 
Some nearly implode by the thought of university being free, fearful of the quality of education degrading due to an influx of unprepared students. Others believe that higher education should be viewed as a right and strive towards achieving universal accessibility through limiting or abolishing fees altogether. Whether you advocate for lower tuition or not, the fact is that many students from different areas around the world regularly stage protests to drop fees. And with increasing financial pressures, numerous governments have made dramatic cuts to university budgets, compelling more students to recently take to the streets. Is it worth the struggle? That’s for you to decide. 

From Berkley to Buckingham 
 
The past few years have been plagued with financial insecurity, causing many universities to find their budget deficits have increased. Administrative and governing bodies have attempted to deal with this problem, often resorting to programs cuts and increases in tuition fees. Some universities have been more heavily affected than others.
Between Sept. and Dec. of 2009, a series of protests broke out across California. The protests were mainly comprised of students, who were responding to a state-level decision. Due to a large budget deficit, the University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Trustees decided to increase tuition fees. As a result, tuition fees in dozens of universities rose by 32 per cent. Some faculty who were undergoing pay reductions are also reported to have joined the protests.
Across several months, students protested at different universities scattered throughout the state. The protests escalated in Nov. of 2009, when students staged sit-down strikes and overtook school buildings. Major headlines showered the media when 41 students were arrested for locking themselves inside Wheeler Hall, a building of great significance for the Berkeley campus. Similarly, 100 students staged a sit-in protest in a campus building at the University of California in Santa Cruz, for three days straight. Overall, approximately 200 students were arrested, while no injuries were believed to have occurred.
One year later, major protests have taken place across London. Similar to California, the government of England decided to increase fees in an attempt to reduce their budget. A review that was conducted in October of 2010 suggested that a tuition freeze in England should be removed. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government decided to keep a freeze, but instead of capping tuition at £3,290 pounds, they decided to raise the maximum to £9,000 pounds. With the prospect of seeing their tuition almost triple, students held rallies, with turnouts as high as 50,000 individuals during demonstrations in London. Unlike the protests in California, the UK uprising erupted into spats of violence. According to the BBC, police officers and students were injured, some of them being hospitalized.
The results? In California, tuition increases did not change. In the UK, it may be too early to know whether or not the protests will have any impact on the government’s decisions. However, a small victory for students occurred. According to the BBC, the Welsh Assembly in Whales announced that it would not follow England in increasing student fees after protests began.
Reactions to recent student protests over tuition have varied. Dr. Maureen Mancuso, Provost and Vice-President Academic and former chair of the Department of Political Science commented on why the UK protests may have had little impact on policy, primarily citing economic reasons.
“So far it appears those protests [in London] have not been effective,” said Mancuso. “The British government clearly thinks it has few options at this point, and while protests can demonstrate depth of feeling, there is always the possibility that depth of feeling is not enough.  The austerity measures affect many groups in Britain, not just students, and those other groups have also been demonstrative in their displeasure.”
Denise Martins, CSA External Commissioner at the U of G supports the efforts of London and California students, even if they did not have immediate repercussions for policy. “Without the mobilization, without student support, [cuts to tuition] will not happen. At some point, something has to give. At some points students will say, enough is enough. There’s nothing else we can do but react when we see these hikes.”
While Political Science professor Dr. Judith McKenzie can relate to students who protest over fees, she believes that current financial challenges both abroad and at the U of G will continue to impose pressures on both students and faculty. “These are very tough economic times. And I think there’s probably a large number of students whose parents’ employment is sketchy right now,” said McKenzie. “While I sympathize with student run efforts to bring publicity to the issue of high tuition rates, I don’t see how this university would be able to lower them, from what I hear about financial struggles. At the same time, I certainly understand why students are protesting.”

Where fees are frowned upon

While protests in California and England have not led to any major decreases in tuition, there are universities around the world that have managed to keep their fees to a minimum, despite the 2008 financial crisis. In Sweden, students continue to attend university for free. Students are also offered an allowance or provided with loans by the National Board of Student Aid. Sweden can afford to send its students to university for free because they operate as a welfare state. The country currently has the second-highest tax burden in the world. According to the Guardian, most Swedes pay between 49 and 60 per cent of their income towards taxes.  But the rate of students who receive a university education is impressive. Approximately 47% of all students go attend a higher education institution.
In Quebec, tuition has been virtually frozen for the past 14 years. Students from Quebec who decide to study there pay about half the amount of fees than most Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, Quebec residents pay approximately $2,200 dollars in tuition fees per year, while Canadians pay on average around $5,000 dollars in tuition fees on an annual basis for their undergraduate studies. While Quebec students have the lowest tuition rates in the country, the Quebec provincial government is presently contemplating possible increases. Policy officials have called for tuition to increase by $500 dollars per year starting in 2012. In mid-December, 60,000 university and college Quebec students went on strike in efforts to voice concern over future tuition hikes.
Could the rest of Canada ever adopt models more similar to Sweden, or reduce fees as low as Quebec? Some have their doubts. Dr. Julie Simmons, professor in the Department of Political Science doesn’t think that Ontario is likely to follow our Quebec neighbours in the realm of tuition fees.
“For Ontario universities to have tuition rates like Quebec, we’d have to raise our provincial tax rates, and get voters firmly committed to the project. Historically, Ontarians do not have that same sense of collective identity, and choose tax cuts over tax increases,” said Simmons. “So it’s highly unlikely that we will ever follow the Quebec model of public funding for post secondary education.”
Despite structural and historical differences, Martins continues to believe that other countries can and should act as examples to follow. “I get really frustrated when I look at other countries,” said Martins. “I’m from Argentina, where post-secondary education is regarded as a right. There is no tuition fee…Tuition is rising faster than our incomes, it’s rising faster than our minimum wage.”
The U of G
While the affordability of higher education is a complicated, historically rooted and politically motivated issue, it continues to impact students everywhere. Over the course of the next month, a new CSA campaign to reduce tuition will become visible on our campus. A panel discussion will be held for students to discuss concerns about affordability with administrative faculty, and a rally is set to take place for those wishing to further express their frustrations. Many different subjects, including barriers of accessibility, international students fees and accumulated student debt will be brought to light over the course of the campaign.
Prof. McKenzie contemplated what it would take for such campaigns to have an actual impact on policy. “It would take a huge mobilization of public opinion in my view,” said McKenzie. What can motivate that, I’m not quite sure. In the old days it was the media…I’ve been teaching here for 10 years, and I can’t remember when there was a big huge protest on campus. When I was a university student, it was against the Vietnam War. We would have regular [protests] and maybe that kind of activism has kind of disappeared now, I don’t know. What would it take to get 10,000 people of your age mobilized?”
Perhaps, now more than ever, students rising against tuition hikes need to think of their strategies and common goals.  Can Canadian students effectively unite to call for change?  That may depend on whether or not students largely see this issue as problematic.  Statistics would suggest that there is a cause well worth the discussions. The average debt that a Canadian university student holds upon graduating is somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 dollars. Over the past decade, tuition in Ontario alone has risen by over 100 per cent.  Even if you’re tired of the debate, the truth is, from London to Guelph, there clearly continues to be one. Might as well join in to see where you stand and whether you decide to take one.
Tuition Fee Facts
    Tutition fees rose over 200 per cent in the last 20 years in Ontario.
    Ontario has the highest tuition fee average in the country.
    Over the four past years, University of Guelph President, Alistair Summerlee’s salary has increased by 24.1 per cent.
    Student debt to the federal government has surpassed $13 billion and increases by $1.2 million per day.
Compiled by the CSA

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