By Aunjolay Lambert |Staff Writer|
I believe that strikes are words being put into action, so I think they can be a effective method of getting your point across.
Since the California Faculty Association (CFA) approved their two-day strike the students have been doing some striking of their own. Recently, the members of Students for Quality Education went on a nine-day hunger strike.
This surprised me, but I think this may be what students need now that tuition costs keep rising and college grads are not able to get the jobs they need to pay off their student debt. I think its about time that we hear some noise from the students.
“I wish I would have known we were striking because I would’ve wanted to be there, because I think Chancellor Reed needs to hear what I have to say,” said student Courtnee Allen.
Reed got to hear from the Students of Quality Education, according to The Press Enterprise. Their list of demands included freezing tuition costs for the next five years and bringing executive salaries back to 1999 levels, reported The Press Enterprise, but their demands weren’t met.
A spokesperson from the chancellor’s office said the students’ demands were unrealistic. Although the students’ demands weren’t met, I think it’s important that we continue to make efforts to get our voices heard.
The students that participated in the hunger strike took great pride in the fact that their efforts brought attention to the chancellor’s office.
A CBS investigator found over $700,000 in debatable charges for alcohol, catering, and transportation from the chancellor’s office, according to The Press Enterprise
As a student I’m so disappointed because students are struggling and it has been a hard time for us economically, causing many of us to be frustrated. If you ask me it’s about time we turn our frustrations into actions.
We chose to go to college and further our education, yet the chancellor’s office is making it difficult to afford.
So should our tuition go up because we chose to better ourselves?
Something needs to change in order to prevent extra money being taken out of students’ pockets. Students are now being forced to move back in with their parents or move into cheaper places that can be in bad neighborhoods.
After rising housing costs I was forced to move 15 miles away from school without a car or job. “My family lives in a different state while I’m here at Cal State going to school, but since they raised tuition its been hard for me so now my family has to help support me,” said student Stephanie Pierre.
Students put so much into finishing school because of the promising future that we believe we might have. The hunger strike the students put on gave us the attention we deserve because it’s about time for us to be heard.
A hunger strike doesn’t seem bad and it will make people recognize what we go through.
So let’s strike CSUSB, since it seems that’s the only way we are going to make any progress.