Tuition and fees at California public colleges and universities have increased by 300% over the past decade, skyrocketing since Wall Street crashed the economy in 2008. Our generation of students is the most indebted in history. Working class students and students of color in particular are being denied the right to education. 600,000 students have been forced out of the California Community College system.

Our schools do need more money, but it should come from taxing the 1%, not from shifting the burden onto students. In 2012, California voters approved Proposition 30 with the intent of re-funding public education. Governor Jerry Brown promised a 4-year tuition freeze. But this promise was empty. In fact, Brown himself chose to divert Prop 30 money to fund prisons. In addition, much of the money that does reach our schools is wasted on administrators pulling down six-figure salaries. Administration is growing at 5 times the rate of faculty, the majority of whom are now part-time.

Now, only 2 years after Prop 30, all 3 California public higher education systems have​ started or are planning fee hikes. Most of these fees are being implemented in sneaky ways that may appear to benefit students. In fact, they are an attack on public education. Raising costs for students will only force more student to delay their education, or to give up on it altogether. We are fighting for the future of education, and we need your help.

We, the students of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges hereby demand that all existing fees be rolled back and new fees be halted.  Education is a right, not a commodity- EDUCATION MUST BE FREE.