CNC students set to protest tuition

College of New Caledonia

students are ready to protest.

The CNC student union is holding a day of action Wednesday to demand reduced tuition fees, lower student debt and increased education funding.

The day is part of a nationwide initiative beginning at 7 a.m. at the CNC atrium, where free cookies and coffee will be available to students.

Things get rolling at noon when local band High Ball Riot takes to the stage.

Speeches follow and, if all works out, someone decked out in an inflatable sumo suit will take on all challengers, CNC student union external co-ordinator Jasmine Bhatti said.

"It's supposed to be representative," Bhatti said. "You can't beat student debt, you can't beat high tuition rates."

From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. there will be carnival games - including a bungee run symbolizing how tough it can be to run away from student debt.

The event is held every five years on campuses affiliated with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and Bhatti said was worth the trouble last time because governments reacted by increasing student aid.

In CNC's university transfer program, Bhatti has her sights set on a career in marketing and considers herself among the lucky ones because her parents put money away in a registered education savings plan to pay for her schooling.

But Bhatti said many of her friends will graduate with

mountains of debt.

The left-wing think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) says a four-year undergraduate university degree costs $50,630, of which tuition fees make up 40 per cent.

Yet university-educated men contribute $159,000 more to the public treasury than men with only a high school diploma while the figure for women with an undergraduate degree is $106,000.

Last week, the CNC board of governors said it's considering a two-per-cent tuition fee hike to deal with a projected $1.8 million deficit for the coming school year. Last year, a last-minute boost of funding allowed the board to back away from a tuition fee hike.

At CNC, the cost for five, first-year university transfer courses is about $2,800.

At University of Northern British Columbia, whose student society is not affiliated with the CFS, a full-time undergraduate student pays $4,629 per year.