Twelve Eastern Michigan University students walked from the Student Center to the House of the President in protest of the 7.8 percent tuition increase at noon on Thursday. EMU’s president, Susan Martin, walked outside and spoke with the students about their concerns.
The 2015-16 General Fund Operating Budget was approved at the Board of Regents Meeting on Tuesday, which included the increase in tuition.
After the tuition increase, the university will offer the third lowest tuition out of Michigan’s 15 public universities, according to the President’s Council, State Universities of Michigan.
“We’re very unhappy with the hike in tuition and the way the regent’s board announced it,” said senior business management student Max Morefield, who organized the protest on Facebook. “Just that we didn’t have any input in their decision at all and that it was all decided in one day.”
News of the tuition increase was announced after it was approved at the regent’s meeting on EMU’s Facebook and Twitter pages with links to more information. Geoff Larcom, executive director of media relations, also sent an email to faculty, students and staff on the day of the meeting with a summary of announcements and links to press releases.
“The University is raising tuition in order to continue to provide strong and high-demand academic programs that support student success,” Larcom said. “Eastern’s academic programs meet the demands of students in today’s economy, which results in employment for our graduating students.”
After walking through the Student Center carrying posters and chanting “EMU, what a joke, making all their students broke,” the students walked down Washtenaw Avenue, westbound. Two EMU Department of Public Safety officers cut them off in SUVs and said the students had to use the sidewalk.
The students crossed Washtenaw Avenue multiple times as they walked, stopping traffic.
Sabrina Ford, a junior majoring in political science, told Martin that she feels other avenues could have been explored, instead of raising tuition.
“There are lots of things that could have been sacrificed that students would have been okay with sacrificing,” Ford said.
According to a Q&A posted on EMU’s website regarding the 2015-16 budget, “[t]he University has worked diligently to operate in a fiscally sound, responsible and sustainable manner, with a strong emphasis on effective budget stewardship.”
It states that $220 million was invested in the last five years to make “necessary and important” improvements to campus building and infrastructure. These changes were made “in order to continue to attract a growing number of students to study in high-demand areas and were focused on academic spaces.”
Senior Darius Simpson, a political science major, said “being more open about the process could be explored in the future.”
“It’d be great to know how these decisions were made, why they were made, and how it affects us, good and bad,” Simpson said.
Martin encouraged the students to voice their concerns to Student Fovernment.
“Well, you know the provost and I are always eager to hear from the students,” Martin said. “We work with Student Government. We’re happy to hear your voice.”
Morefield said he saw some students posted on Facebook that they won’t be able to afford their tuition due to the increase.
“I mean, I’m a senior and I’ve taken on a lot of student debt in order to pay my way through school so obviously this increase is going to cost me at least an extra thousand dollars just to finish my degree,” Morefield said. “And that’s not including any other fees that they’ve attached on for this upcoming year.”
Martin said of the $10 million increase, $4.7 million is going back to students.
According the Q&A, $48.5 million of the budget will go to University-sponsored financial aid.
Morefield said he plans on holding monthly protests and hopes the number of students will increase.
