Students and faculty members protested against a possible tuition rate hike in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system.
Dozens of people turned out at Gateway Community College in New Haven to show opposition to rising tuition costs after the Board of Regents approved a 3% tuition increase last year.
"Tuition hikes will make our colleges less accessible," said Seth Freeman, professor and 4 Cs SEIU 1973 president.
"We're here to support our students and say tuition hikes are a bad policy. The Board of Regents needs to strongly not just reconsider, but stop what they're planning on doing," he continued.
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While students and faculty are very concerned about rising costs, the CSCU system says the Board of Regents hasn't yet taken action on tuition rates for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
"In fact, there is no tuition proposal for the community colleges currently on the table. That said, the current financial situation across the CSCU system underscores the need for state investment in order to keep tuition low while providing much-needed supports to help our students succeed and complete," a spokesperson for CSCU said.
A second-year Gateway Community College student was among those who turned out for Thursday night's rally.
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"I speak to people up in the [Board of Regents] and I just wanted to say that on behalf of the school and everyone in the New Haven area, we are against these tuition hikes," Alina Wheeler said.
The spokesperson said their goal is to ensure that the state's public colleges and universities remain the most affordable, accessible higher education option in the state.
"We need to invest in our campuses so that we're not shifting the burden onto the backs of our students," Freeman said.
"Especially in the community colleges, you shouldn't have all your money gone by the time you're in your junior or senior year. You should be able to have a little bit of money to be able to afford textbooks instead of having to pay for them out of pocket," Wheeler said.
While Thursday's event was specifically aimed at protesting Gateway tuition costs, another rally will be held Saturday at noon at the Board of Regents location in Hartford to protest CSCU tuition costs as a whole.
The CSCU spokesperson referred to President Terrence Cheng's plan, CSCU 2030, for more about upcoming goals. For more information about the plan, click here.
