Students’ Day Of Action Rocks CNC
The band, Highball Riot, helps students rock out during a rally protesting student debt
Prince George, BC – Students at the College of New Caledonia in Prince George joined campuses across the country in a National Day of Action to rally against increasing tuition fees, skyrocketing student debt, and to call for more funding for post-secondary education.
A BC representative from the Canadian Federation of Students was on-hand from Vancouver to speak to those gathered in CNC’s atrium. Michael Olson told the crowd tuition fees have more than doubled in BC over the past decade. "We’re talking used to be under $25-hundred dollars per year on average and now, on average, tuition fees in BC are approaching $5-thousand dollars per year."
He said if tuition fees had been pegged to the rate of inflation since 1990, they’d be about half of what they are today. "In fact, tuition fees are the fastest-increasing cost for students – they’re increasing faster than rent, transit, or food." And Olson says the Liberal government’s decision to eliminate the student grants program in 2005 saw the disappearance of as much as $80-million dollars in financial aid. "It put BC dead-last in terms of student financial aid in Canada." (click on photo at right for video clip)
He points out BC students also pay the highest interest rates in the country on any student loans they do get. "We get less help and the help we do get, we pay more for."
The federation is also calling on the BC government to restore per-student funding to post-secondary institutes, saying colleges like CNC are forced to charge more to generate enough revenue to provide the courses. "In 2000, tuition fees made up roughly 18-percent of college budgets, now," Olson says, "(They) make up a full one-third."
Olson urged those in attendance at today’s rally to sign a petition that will be sent to Federal Minister, Diane Finley, calling on Ottawa to do its part.
Students at today’s rally did manage to see the ‘lighter’ side of this heavy debt issue. Second year Business student, Kevin Sales, donned a sumo wrestler suit for the event, representing the ‘sumo’-sized debt many face upon graduation. Sales says he’s working while going to college for his diploma program, so hasn’t had to acquire any debt.
Fort St. James resident, Kristen Sam, is a third year student in Human Kinetics. She says she’s also been fortunate, in that she is being sponsored by the Nak’azdli Band to attend CNC, but says she still works every opportunity she gets to have a little extra cash in her pocket.
"I work all my holidays – this past Christmas, I worked more than 96-hours in two weeks," she says. "I hear a lot of people working two jobs, trying to volunteer for their course work and trying to study – it’s really difficult."
Click on photo below to watch students ‘Reach for a debt-free graduation’…
Comments
As someone posted on the Citizen site..
Post secondary is a Choice, not a right.
If you cant afford it dont go or work till you can afford it.
Romper Room ?
I can’t give you any more of my hard earned money. I’m tapped right out. Sorry.
And a fun time was had by all, eh? Good for them. That oughta be a lesson for those people who are in charge of financial decision making.
The Education Industrial Complex, and its enabler, Credentialism, is coming to an end, and not soon enough.
Let’s get back to focusing on skills and results, not frames on the wall where the frame is worth more in the world than the piece of paper inside.
Lots of great stuff for free online if what you care about is skills.
Like CS 106A fron Stanford – Programming Methodology – available for FREE at iTunes U.
This should read: students want taxpayers to pay bigger share of tuition”
I think ALL students should pay for their education. I really wonder who invented free education from pre-kindergarten to 12 and beyond.
I mean, we have to pay for nursery school, ballet school, archery school, and even driving school.
What were they thinking?
Oh, while we are at it, we need to increase the tax on gasoline which can then be given to municipalities and provinces so that the portion of their respective provincial and municipal transportation costs can be removed from theie annual budgets and passed on to those who do the driving.
I love user pay systems. Really equalizes opportunities for the masses.
Lets keep in mind that College or University is optional. So if you want to attend, the Government (taxpayer) will supply the facilities, the teachers, and you can supply some of the money through tuition.
Note that Kevin Sales stated that he was working while attending college so he does not have any debt. What a novel idea.
User fees only offset a very small portion of the cost of providing services. Ie; Ferries, Toll Bridges, Transit, College, University.
If everyone went to college or university, on the taxpayers dollar, this Country would be bankrupt in the first year, plus there would not be any good paying jobs for 90% of the graduates.
I beleive that one reason that tuition is too high, is because of high wages, and benefits, high cost of heat and electricity. We do have some control over these issues, and maybe its time for the Government to get off its ass, and do something to reduce the high cost of running these facilities, instead of taking the easy road, and raising tuition.
Well the gas station’s now charge for air so the return of the pay toilet’s can’t be far behind. A loonie will get ya two sheet’s of bum-wipe.
Why are students allowed to protest not only on the property but inside the building.
Something not right here.
If you want to protest-take it to the streets.
Not much sypathy here, and there shouldn’t be! I would like to hear from more students like Kevin Sales who actually work so they don’t have student debt. If you pay for it yourself, you will work harder and appreciate it more.
If tuition is free maybe we can fill the corridors of higher learning like we do at the local ER at our hospital. Hey, why not? It’s free!!
Chuckle. Hangin’ out at Club Tylenol.
As an employer I would take employees that worked during college or university over ones that didn,t,specially if they worked jobs that are production focused, like Mc Donalds,planting trees,etc.,they have proven to be productive.
“I beleive that one reason that tuition is too high, is because of high wages, and benefits, high cost of heat and electricity”
I think we should just devalue everything by 25% and be done with it. That’ll shut those people who figure we are paying too much for everything right up.
“Sales says he’s working while going to college for his diploma program,”
Just try to tell that to a med student … some programs actually require one to study. ;-)
Another group trying to dig their hands deeper into taxpayer pockets. Post secondary education is already subsidized two thirds. Students only pay about one third the real cost.
As faxman said, look somewhere else. I’m taxed out.
I paid for mine — I went back to University of BC when I was 29 years old, with two small children and a wife. I worked every nite and weekends. I had a full course load every year including 2 summer courses and a few others. My wife did babysitting around campus and other small jobs, She also took a few courses towards her degree. I owed $20,000 for student loans after 2 years in 1975. I never went on any marches because of the price of tuition or books. I didn’t have time for that. So get a life and a job — get two jobs if you have to or scrap the idea of higher education.
Comments for this article are closed.