10:30am | Students for Quality Education (SQE) was formed by California State University (CSU) students in 2007 in order to, in the words of SQE representative Erica Hoffman, “raise awareness of injustices within the CSU system and education in California.” The group is a sister organization of the California Faculty Association (CFA), who oftentimes supports and assists SQE in their efforts.
In addressing the more than 200% tuition increase CSU students have faced in the past decade, with three of those fee hikes occurring in the last year alone, the CSU Bakersfield chapter of the SQE proposed an interesting and rather unique idea to show of their voices: holiday caroling. Specifically and directly in front of CSU Chancellor Charles Reed’s home here in Long Beach. The lyrics of well-known holiday tunes have been altered to address everything from the lack of quality in CSU education due to furloughs and budget cuts to the most recent tuition hike vote that occurred this past November.
The satiric event is, according the organization, an attempt to engage in dialogue — not remain in silence — using caroling as a metaphor that voices can indeed be heard. The organization feels that the recent rise in tuition fees (the highest the CSU system has ever seen) is in direct violation of the California Master Plan for Higher Education (CMP).
The CMP was developed in 1960 under the administration of Governor Pat Brown and overseen by a team of UC Regents and the State Board of Education, where it aimed to solidify the postsecondary educational goals of the state. One of its most respected and known aspects is its focus on providing accessible higher education, stating that some form of higher education ought to be available to all regardless of their economic means, and that academic progress should be limited only by individual proficiency; it is on this particular aspect of the CMP that the SQE is claiming the Board of Trustees violated.
The caroling, scheduled to begin today at 4:00pm through 6:00pm, will occur at the Chancellor’s house in Belmont Shore. The organization is expecting 30-40 people to attend.