3 months ago
DAVIS, CA - Years of cuts due to state funding reductions have forced University of California officials to raise tuition fees eight times.
UC Regents voted on the latest 32 percent fee hike at a meeting Thursday at UCLA. It's the eighth time UC has increased fees since 2002. By next fall, UC's yearly tuition will be more than $10,000.
Some UCD students protesting against the increase even took to the school's adminstration building Thursday.
But students and teachers say they've already felt the pain of cuts due to state funding reductions.
Lecturer Joan Chandler has taught textile and clothing classes at UC Davis. "I just love the students," she said. But Chandler is also worried about whether their classes will continue.
"At the end of September, we got a report that said three departments in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences were recommended to be closed," Chandler said.
Apparently, when Chandler She and four other teachers in the Division of Textiles and Clothing retire, they won't be replaced. "They're doing because we're small and all of our faculty members age 50. So when it's gone, it's gone,"She said.
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But many of the 100 students enrolled in the department are fighting back.
Luis Legaspi said they're collecting signatures on petitions that they plan to give to school administrators and state lawmakers.
"We've only had the petition a week and already we have about 905 people who have signed it," said Legaspi.
He said UCD's textile department is the only one like it at any school west of the Mississippi.
"To get these kinds of classes, the closest place you could go would be Cornell University in New York," Legaspi said.
"They don't just teach us fashion trends here," Legaspi said. "I'm learning about consumer behavior and why certain fabrics do what they do under certain conditions or what will happen if you put them in heat."
Christina Ang said if the program is axed it will hurt former students who are already working in the textile industry. "Our students are highly sought after," said Ang. "If they try to get a job and say they attended UCD, employers can find out the program isn't here any more. They would wonder why it's gone and think maybe they shouldn't hire a student who went here."
University officials confirmed they're targeting the Division of Textile and Clothing because of state budget cuts. They say they have a limited amount of money and have to cut somewhere.
UCD's Academic Senate will make the final decision on the fate of textile classes but Chandler is very proud her students are challenging plans to eliminate their major.
"It shows we've also taught then they really have a voice and they should stand up when there's something worth fighting for," Chandler said.
By Karen Massie, kmassie@news10.net
News10/KXTV
