Students from Sacramento State’s Sociology 136 class and Students for Quality Education teamed up to rally on campus in the library quad for a “tuition takeover,” on Wednesday.
The protest was held to challenge the 34% tuition increase passed by the Board of Trustees last September and is effective to start in the fall 2024 semester.
The protest included guest speakers and marching, where students chanted “freeze the fees” repeatedly. This marks the second protest against the tuition increase this month, with the first one held by SQE on April 10.
The approved tuition increase is set to span over five years, increasing by 6% each year, and will begin in the fall 2024 semester.
International student and third-year political science major Cesar Jolicon said the class was out there hoping to spread awareness about the tuition increase and what this could mean for funding at Sac State.
RELATED: Students gather across campus to protest 34% tuition increase
“We found out that the tuition increase is going to be pretty much 34% over the next five years,” Jalicon said. “We are not going to see any changes to our student life, so that’s why we are doing this movement.”
Jalicon said education should be available to everyone, and that affordability is what drew a lot of students to Sac State.
“This is the reason why a lot of people are coming here, because compared to UC Davis, Sacramento is way cheaper,” Jalicon said. “Students want an education that is affordable.”
Second-year psychology major Alaina Maser said Sac State’s affordability provides a good education for a more reasonable price than other universities.
“I came to this school because it was cheap,” Maser said. “Not because it was my dream school. I don’t have the money to go anywhere else.”
Maser said she wishes students would’ve been involved more with the decision, as students are the primary ones affected. She said affordability was the reason she attended Sac State, and a smaller increase would be better than the 34%.
“Most people are not in good financial standing,” Maser said. “It sucks to see that we’re all expected to put up so much money that could be used towards grad school.”
Fourth-year sociology major Michelle Pacheco Jimenez said as a first-generation college student, the reason she was able to attend was because of a scholarship and financial aid. She wonders what the tuition change could mean for her younger sisters.
“I don’t know if that will give them the same chance as me to attend all four years of college,” Jimenez said. “I hope they get the same opportunities as I do, but with the increase, I don’t know if that’s really possible.”
Overall, protestors shared the sentiment that Sac State’s tuition increase will drive students away and that tuition money won’t go toward student life.
“We’re just college students,” second-year health science major Mia Cornejo said. “We don’t have the money for this.”
Additional reporting by Jocelyn Hill, Madison Lopez and Alexander Musa.
