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Yet again, the California public college budget has been cut, and the only solution on the table is to raise fees. The 2011-2012 state budget just passed by the California legislature cuts $650 million dollars from higher education. The community college, State University, and University of California systems are all mulling fee hikes. The California State University Board of Trustees will consider a proposal to raise CSU fees by 12% for the fall 2011 term, an increase of $294 per semester. This will be in addition to a 10% increase in tuition already approved for the upcoming year. Students of the UC system – are facing an increase of 9.6 percent. This would be in addition to the 8 percent increase already passed by the UC Regents for the 2011-2012 school year. A year of classes for an undergraduate UC student will now cost $12,000 a three-fold increase from ten years ago. Of the increase, UC Vice President Patrick Lenz stated raising student fees was necessary because, “Our campuses and the UC Office of the President already have cut to the bone.” Some UC students disagree, saying the budget shortfalls should be filled in with money from deeper pockets than their own. To make their point they are joining with workers from the Disney Resort in Anaheim, to target one UC regent, Monica Lozano, and two companies she is associated with, La Opinion, the Spanish language media giant, and Walt Disney Corporation. Members of Unite HERE that work for the Disney hotel share similar grievances to California’s students, in being financially squeezed by corporate interests.

GUESTS: June Mecker, a Disneyland Resort Dining phone operator, Giselle Armendariz, a 18-year-old freshman at Cal Poly Pomona

Students and workers from Unite HERE will be at 700 Flower street on Friday in downtown LA, at 11:30, wearing Disney character costumes.

Find out more at www.unitehere11.org.