Proposed tuition hike sparks student rage at town hall

Thursday night, the students’ union executives held a town hall meeting to inform students of the details surrounding the recently proposed $1,000 hike to FYP tuition. Attendees were also given a chance to ask questions and express their own thoughts and feelings during the event.
The meeting educated students on the current options being considered and where the adjustments would place King’s tuition in relation to competing Canadian institutions.
In attendance were around 50 students and three faculty members, including Daniel Brandes, Director of FYP and members of the committee working to make recommendations regarding the tuition adjustment.
Mixed in with light-hearted FYP jokes and friendly discussion, all involved expressed jaded feelings towards both the proposal itself and lack of action surrounding the decision-making. Many were concerned that the tuition hike has only been public knowledge for a short period of time — admitting they themselves knew very little about the Board of Governors and its function.
Armed with charts and statistics, KSU President Alex Bryant says the increase will make FYP more expensive than its competitors, as it will increase tuition fees to between $7,000-$9,000 by the end of the adjustment period.
“Even FYP students can do basic math and can see that that’s more than $1,000,” says Bryant. “That’s because it’s on top of the three percent increase each year.”
During the discussion period, several students expressed worry over what this kind of decision will mean for their relationship with faculty and staff at the school. One student said she feels that this kind of financial action is not what she would have expected from a place like King’s.
[pullquote]“The people that we read in our classes are against this kind of action,”[/pullquote] says Karis Tees. “It drives me crazy because the whole face of King’s will change.”
The meeting ended on a general consensus that the students are prepared to take action and are ready to fight against this proposal becoming a reality.
“I think this may be the one time ever that we have a chance of striking this down,” says Bryant.
Bryant and his fellow executives are encouraging all students to attend and speak up at a consultation with the board members this Monday, September 28 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the KTS Red Room (second floor of the New Academic Building).
[box type=”info”] Corrections made for C.P. style: “1000 dollars” was changed to “$1000”, “seven to nine thousand dollars” was changed to “$7,000-$9,000”, and “p.m.” was added after “3:30-5:30″[/box]