By Alejandra Arana |Staff Writer|
Students for Quality Education (SQE) held a Strike School workshop on April 26 to teach students how to strike and provide more information about the upcoming fee increase for Fall 2012.
Students from SQE shared their experiences of past strikes which allowed the other students that were there an inside look on how to protest in a way that will not harm anyone, but bring acknowledgment to their issues.
SQE has been active at CSUSB since 2001 and has been a part of sit-ins, strikes and negotiations with the Chancellor’s office to raise awareness about how much the budget cuts, faculty and staff layoffs and fee increases are affecting students.
“We have been to every Board of Trustee meeting, have contacted the Chancellor’s office on multiple occasions and have been widely ignored,” said Natalie Dorado, the lead organizer of SQE for CSUSB. “[The Chancellor’s office] is trying to keep us ignorant so they can take advantage of us. They aren’t putting the students first and are expecting the faculty to be stretched out even further.”
CSUSB professors have had to increase their class sizes to accommodate the number of students attending the university, making it harder for them to provide a quality education.
“Working with the CFA and these activities, I became closer to my professors and understood that they are also struggling, they are people too being effected by everything that is happening,” said student Francisca Aguilar.
Students can relate with other students about the fee increases and the extra loans they have to take out.
But the faculty and staff is forgotten, they make a living working here so if they are one of the ones chosen to be cut they no longer have a source of income provided to them.
“SQE is committed to the California Master Plan for Higher Education principles of an affordable, accessible, quality education for the CSU System,” as stated on the SQE website.
SQE is demanding “the elimination of all 23 campus presidents’ housing and car allowances,” according to the Enough is Enough flyer, in order to keep more money in the school system and help students out a little more with fees.
Students are accumulating more loans with and without interest but they are adding to the student loan debt that has just recently reached $1 trillion.
SQE is active on campus and welcomes any one to attend their events and become aware of what is going on in our campus.
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