KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Students are camping out on the Dalhousie quad in protest of a three-percent tuition hike, the maximum yearly increase the government permits.
The group of students, many affiliated with the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), want to see the decision to raise tuition fees struck down at the April 20th Board of Governors meeting. Students and members of the community will rally outside in support of a tuition freeze before the meeting.
This is the second rise in tuition fee at Dalhousie during the pandemic and comes with a further $1473 increase to international student fees. The tuition increase works out to an extra $243 for arts students and $276 for science students.
Student groups say that after an extremely difficult year, they cannot accept any increase.
DSU president Madeleine Stinson said that the group of students started their tent-in on Friday afternoon, and have heard little from the Dalhousie senior administration since.
She says even if Dalhousie doesn’t respond, students have shown how much this issue means to them.
Dal and King’s students have spent over a month campaigning for tuition empathy, but Stinson said administration is yet to budge on any of their demands.
“Even if Dal never reaches out, we’ve heard a lot of good feedback from students, and that is what matters most.”
Stinson said that the point of the protest is to show the toll that these changes will have on students.
“Being a student and advocating for students’ rights is hard,” Stinson said. “This is our life, and it feels like [senior admin] don’t understand that … at the end of the day, they get to go home.”
Tuesday’s rally starts at 1:30 in the Studley Quad. Immediately after the rally, the Dalhousie Board of Governors will vote on the proposed hike.
Find more info about the rally here: fb.me/e/3C7Rv8ToF
See also: Overpriced and underserved: St Mary’s University’s response to COVID-19 gets a failing grade
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