Rage as Tuitions Skyrocket 32 Percent

The University of California system returned to its position as a hotbed of student activism this week as students rallied to protest a 32 percent tuition increase approved Thursday. The student protests—which aimed to block increasing tuition fees above $10,000 for the first time—shut down the Regents' UCLA meeting three times on Wednesday, while similar protests occurred at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. But the rallies were ultimately unsuccessful, and the average undergraduate cost will rise by about $2,500 to around $10,300 next year. The system has already laid off some 2,000 employees and imposed furloughs to help close a $535 million budget gap. President Mark Yudof recommended the fee increase to restore some of the cuts, and said Wednesday that unless the state was able to grant an additional $913 million to the schools next year, tuition could rise again.