Students call out inequities of rising tuition costs in California higher education
-Jessica Silver-Sharp
On Wednesday August 21, the Skyline College Quad was the scene of a stimulating and well-attended teach-in on the rising costs of higher education at CSU and UCs and recent, significant tuition increases affecting our own international students in SMCCCD.
Recently graduated student organizers Celina Buncayo and William Maisonpierre, who in Spring completed organizing internships with the faculty union AFT 1493, explained the California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960 and summarized the historical, upward trajectory of tuition hikes that began with Governor Ronald Reagan in 1966. It was clear they had done their research.
Student panelists, including SFSU student Felix Rowell, current Skyline College international student MeMe Hlaing Oo from Myanmar, and SJSU graduate student Matthew Dumanig, spoke next. They both opposed public education as a business and called out the many ways students can organize with campus and cultural organizations to bring attention to the inequities and hardships brought on by tuition increases, especially for marginalized students.
Mimi Hlaing Oo, a member of the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) and Myanmar Student Union and also a peer tutor in the Learning Center, rejected the stereotype of international students as wealthy, pointing out that many SMCCCD students are from countries like Myanmar, which continue to experience significant poverty and political unrest. She shared that she has to work three jobs to meet her living costs and international student tuition payments of more than $5,000 per semester.
Students in the audience were challenged to imagine what their lives might be like if higher education in California “was once again free?” They also shared experiences of staying out of school or doing without books because of rising education costs.
Joined by faculty and staff, students in attendance listened carefully while completing assignments from their instructors about equity in higher education. About the experience, Physics instructor Kolo Wamba shared,
“I think an important takeaway [from the teach-in] for me was that students actually “get it.” Meaning that they understand that tuition hikes are anti-democratic and that fighting back effectively will require building solidarity across campuses, districts, and even systems. And that doesn’t just mean solidarity between students — it’s also about building dual power with faculty, classified professionals, and even ordinary community members.”
While military recruiters looked on from across the quad, the participants concluded with protest chants calling for money for education over war.
Congratulations to all of the student organizers for reminding us that education is a right, not a privilege, and for demonstrating why activism for social justice in education matters, which is in perfect keeping with our College’s mission, vision, and values.
