| | |  Editorials | Opinions | November 2009 
PFP Gubernatorial Candidate Alexander Condemns UC Tuition Hikes
 Peace and Freedom Party
November 21, 2009
California UC Students Receive Education in Capitalism 101
When the University of California's Board of Regents made the decision this past Wednesday to increase college tuitions by a whopping 32 percent, tens of thousands of college students received a wake-up call in capitalism 101. In capitalism, receiving a higher education has less to do with having the ability to compete as a nation or advancing in industry, technologies and science, or preparing our kids for the future; today, receiving a higher education is only a source of revenue for the state and to protect the interest of the wealthy few.
Stewart Alexander, the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for California Governor, has condemned the UC tuition hikes as an assault on our kids and working families. Alexander says, "The leaders of the two corporate parties have chosen to protect the interest of big capital over our children's future."
Students have been outraged on all the UC campuses; and for the past few days there have been mass demonstrations on several of the campuses including UCLA and UC Berkeley. The student outrage has intensified to the point where there have been arrests and students have camped on and near campuses to protest the tuition hikes.
Since 1999, tuitions at the 10 California UC campuses have tripled. The 32 percent tuition hike will drive the cost for one year of tuition up to $10,300; not to include text books, housing, food and other expenses. Many students believe the tuition hikes will force them to drop out or attend community colleges; and due to the recession, many students are unable to rely on family members to help with expenses.
The candidates for California governor, representing the two corporate parties, to include California Attorney General Jerry Brown -D, and Billionaire Meg Whitman -R, believe the tuition hikes are necessary due to California's budget crisis which has already ballooned to a $21 billion deficit. Alexander says the tuition hikes and the California deficit are a result of our state leaders having the wrong priorities. Alexander has supported revising Prop 13 which would require big businesses to pay more of a fair share in taxes; this has been opposed by Sacramento Democrats and Republicans. Alexander continues to oppose the Three-Strikes law which has proven to be very costly (in the billions) to the state, and during a time of deficits and tuition fee hikes, many Democrats and Republicans still support state funding to building more prisons. Alexander has also supported scrapping the two-thirds rule for passing a state budget; he believes the two-thirds rule has more than often put spending for education on the chopping block as oppose to spending for special interest.
Alexander says he is also concerned, that during a time when education has become unaffordable for working families, it is reprehensible that there are more than 3,000 staff members and star administrators in the UC system that are making over $200,000 and many of them making $400,000 to over a million dollars annually.
Stewart Alexander says, "It is time for students to revolt, not by laying in the streets and not by organizing student demonstrations chanting â?~Shame on you!' It must be a revolt using voter registration cards and making a change in the voting booth; this will be the only student action that the Democrats and Republicans will understand."
For more information search the Web for: Stewart A. Alexander
• UC Students Fight Tuition Hike
• UC Berkeley Strike
• Peace and Freedom Party Home Page
• SPUSA- California |
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