An affordable college education is the principle behind the mission of the California State University. California has made a commitment to its citizens of providing access to higher education. Unlike traditional private institutions, CSUS harbors the working class student that would normally not have access to a four year degree. The majority of our students work to supplement the living expenses and depend on low tuition in order to attend CSUS. The quality and access of our institution is now being questioned.The Chancellor of the CSU system has called for a special meeting on the first day of finals week to recommend an increase in student fee that will be effective this upcoming semester. Our undergraduate students should face a 10% increase in tuition and our graduate students should also expect a 15% increase along with a 59.6 million dollar mid-year budget cut for the CSU effective immediately.

It is unfortunate that the leaders of the CSU have decided to schedule a special meeting during finals when students are extremely unavailable to express their concerns. The CSU student body presidents and I met at the CSSA Board of Directors meeting in San Francisco this past weekend to address this issue and are asking for the support of all students and faculty. Chico State and Sac State in conjunction with the California State Student Association will be organizing a bus to transport any interested student to the Chancellors Office in Long Beach for a peaceful demonstration to oppose the student fee proposal. For more information please contact the Associated Students at (916) 278-6784.Let’s fight for an affordable education.