University of the Pacific tuition increase spurs protests
Protests over a tuition increase erupted at the University of the Pacific on Thursday afternoon in front of the Alex and Jeri Vereschagin Alumni House.
The student-led demonstration was triggered by the proposal of a 3.2 percent tuition increase for the 2019-20 school year. The Board of Regents officially voted in favor of a 3 percent undergraduate tuition increase on Friday, the lowest tuition increase in the past 10 years.
Kevin Huber, chair of Pacific’s board, addressed students at the protest on Thursday, telling them that their concerns were being heard and that their voices were not ignored. He also sent out an official statement, expressing that “The Board’s charge to reduce spending throughout the university has been difficult.”
Huber also stated that “while putting the university on strong financial footing, we continue to face long-term trends confronting most institutions of higher education, such as declining enrollments, rising costs of tuition, and the need to make salaries more competitive to retain faculty.”
The attempt to engage students by Huber was not received positively by Lodi native Wjiha Tahir, who is a junior at the university.
“He was there to keep up with appearances, not to listen to students. When students tried to tell their stories, he responded with justification to the tuition increase,” Tahir said.
Tahir, who transferred to Pacific, admits she was not aware of the budget issues prior to attending, and was shocked at the latest tuition hike.
“Students that want to get a higher education, and stay close to home have few options in the area, and UOP is the only private institution around here, but with the tuition constantly rising, it’s going to be impossible to afford,” Tahir said.
Sophomore Connor Lemon, who attended the protest, said that many students feel the university’s budget has been mismanaged and money has been poured into the athletic department without recourse.
“We want answers and transparency about the budget,” Lemon said. “We are upset by that the regents, and President (Pamela) Eibeck’s decision to cut the administrative budget by 10 percent while looking to lay off staff and professors, and this is after tuition was increased by 3.7 percent this past year,” Lemon said.
Over the past three school years, tuition at the university has increased by 7.7 percent (2016-17: $44,068, 2017-18: $45,786, 2018-19: $47,480).
University of the Pacific is one of many universities to undergo multiple tuition increases. Stanford University and its Board of Trustees approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase for both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years. Students are struggling under the strain of the cost.
Lodi’s Areesh Elyas, a freshman at Pacific, said that another tuition hike is a financial burden for many students.
“For some students on campus, they don’t feel the strain of the increase, but for those of us on fixed scholarships, we do. It’s $1,000-$2,000 a year we have to worry about, and some people have maxed out loan amounts and can’t afford the tuition increase.”
Elyas feels Pacific’s board does not seem empathetic towards students or staff.
“It feels like it’s us versus them, they don’t want to listen to us students, and they keep trying to justify the tuition hike. But they mismanaged millions of dollars to the athletic department and it’s absurd that we have to pay for that mistake.”
Another main point of frustration that Lemmon, Tahir and Elyas all shared was the salary that Eibeck receives as Pacific’s president, reportedly $560,000.
According to Lemmon, what sparked the protest in the first place was the cover-up of the spirit rocks on campus. The rocks get spray-painted by students to spotlight organizations and social engagements.
Last weekend, someone spray-painted the rocks asking Eibeck “Where are our leaders Pam’”
Another rock was spray-painted “Eibeck $580,000 = 415 drop outs.”
The following morning the rocks were covered up. The university released a statement to students noting that the rocks had been mistakenly covered up.
“It was an unfortunate and regretful misstep that should not have happened. We respect the right of student free expression throughout our campuses and we are making sure that our staff is well aware of the rights of students to express themselves,” the statement read.