Students express apathy, discontent toward tuition hike
Huan Vo
“It’s understandable.”Lindsay Lathrum, music major, said regarding the Maricopa County Community College District’s recent tuition hike.
With the district’s budget getting cut by the state Legislature, the governing board had several options to cope with the loss, such as restricting the schools’ finances.
During the March 22 meeting, the governing board voted to raise the tuition by a 4-1 vote.
Starting next semester, in-state students will have to pay an extra $5 per credit hour. Undocumented students will have to pay $241 per credit hour. No decision has been made yet on how much the tuition is going to increase for international students.
Although the decision to increase tuition has been made, most students don’t know about it yet.
Michael Demmitt, education major, said he didn’t know about the tuition hike.
“I think it’s not a big deal since it’s only 5 bucks per credit hour,” he said. “I’m also on scholarship, so I think it’s not going to affect me a lot.”
Like Demmitt, neither did Lindsay Lathrum know about the news. Regardless, she said she’ll be fine since she doesn’t pay for her tuition.
On the other hand, some students didn’t take the decision to raise tuition very well. “I think it’s (going to) suck for students who pay for their tuition,” said Shayne DelRosario, a dance major.
“The gas price is going up, and jobs aren’t looking good, either. I think the school might lose some students who can’t afford the raise,” he said.
“I guess I have to cut back on expense to save some money for it,” said Karina Montes, a dental hygiene major. International students also need to be aware of what could be in store for them.
“Now I have to be more careful about how I spend my money. Could we just have a tuition drop?” said Huang Lee, an art major from China.
