Threat of tuition strike at Columbia
More than 1,000 Columbia University students are threatening to withhold their tuition payments next semester in protest of the “exorbitant” costs of attending.
Columbia’s tuition and fees — which hover near $60,000 per year for undergraduates, not counting room and board — “constitute a significant source of financial hardship during this economic depression,” the students wrote in an online petition.
The more than 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students pledging to hold back tuition payments are pushing Columbia officials to lower tuition by 10% an increase financial aid by 10%.
Tuition costs can be particularly steep for Columbia’s graduate schools and the School of General Studies, where financial aid is often less generous than for undergraduates, students said.
The cuts “should not come at the expense of instructor or worker pay, but rather at the expense of bloated administrative salaries, expansion projects, and other expenses that don’t benefit students and workers,” students write in a demand letter.
Officials froze tuition this year, but students say it’s not enough to offset the damage from the economic crisis. The strike’s organizers note “peer” universities Princeton, Georgetown and Williams have lowered fees from 10% to 15%.
Emmaline Bennett, a chair of the Columbia-Barnard Young Democratic Socialists of America and one of the petition organizers, said many concerns about high costs and a range of other university policies have been simmering for years, but the pandemic provided the spark for the tuition strike.
“I don’t think there would’ve been support for something like this if it hadn’t been for the pandemic,” said Bennett, who’s staring down $90,000 of debt from her masters program to become a public school teacher.
The petition includes a range of other demands — from halting construction projects in Harlem to divesting from companies that produce fossil fuels.
Columbia classes have been online this semester, though some students are back on campus. Some students have argued a mostly remote education shouldn’t cost as much as the in-person version.
A university spokeswoman said “throughout this difficult year, Columbia has remained focused on preserving the health and safety of our community, fulfilling our commitment to anti-racism, providing the education sought by our students, and continuing the scientific and other research needed to overcome society’s serious challenges.”