A student protest against the tuition raise will take place on Wednesday in front of Kendall Hall from 11 a.m. to noon.
The protest will be led by Chico State student Trysta Seale. She encourages attendees to come dressed in red or in Chico State merchandise and bring signs protesting the tuition raise.
The tuition raise will be impacting staff and students, so anyone is welcome at the protest.
Protestors are welcome to make speeches and talk about hardships during the protest. Seale said she will be “giving a speech about exactly what is going on and how it will hurt staff and students.”
“I hope that the administration of Chico State can see how upset their students are and will join us trying to make school more accessible by getting the tuition to lower and show the Board of Trustees that we won’t stop and will be a thorn in their side until they recognize the pain they are causing and considering reversing it,” Seale said.
The protest was originally scheduled for Oct. 25, but was delayed to not clash with the California Faculty Association Chico chapter’s march on Oct. 18.
During the march, Seale told The Orion she hoped to replicate some aspects of the march into her protest. Seale also said she talked to the Chico State Students for Quality Education who gave her some pointers, such as who to talk to and how long it should last.
Due to how much she’s been focusing on this protest, she does not have similar plans at this point but hopes to do more in the future.
“This protest means a lot to me,” Seale said. “I can’t afford to go to Chico State next semester so I’ll be going back to Butte College but I still want to come back and I want to make sure other students are able to follow their dreams even if I don’t get to follow my own.”
Seale said she does worry not enough people will show up despite posting flyers, passing out handouts and hosting a booth informing passersby about the protest.
She said she hopes the protest will make the California State University Board of Trustees reconsider their decision and give all students a chance at higher education.
“Please look around, students are being forced into debt to get their degrees and it’s getting to a point where many are just abandoning getting a degree,” Seale said. “Without the students you have nothing. Without students, the teachers will have to leave and without teachers you are nothing.”
Seale will be providing water for protesters.
The CSU Board of Trustees approved the tuition increase during their September meeting. Tuition will increase 6% per year until the 2028-29 academic year.
Ariana Powell can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
