4C - Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com.

4C -Tueday Sepembr 4 201 Th Mihiga Daly micigadaiyco

Regents approve,
tuition increase

FROM TH D-IAI Y APRIL 15, 2012
Enact tuition equality
s the cost of obtaining a college degree increases each year, higher
education becomes a less realistic goal for those from lower income
families or families hesitant to accumulate debt. As a result, diversity
at the University continues to exist increasingly only in rhetoric. While many
steps must be taken to attract and retain students from all walks of life, the
University is currently examining whether to charge in-state tuition rates to
undocumented immigrants residing in Michigan. Charging the out-of-state
tuition for undocumented Michigan public school graduates hinders students
who worked hard to be accepted to the University. The University's Board
of Regents should make this issue a priority and enforce tuition equality to
increase student diversity and maintain focus on education, not politics.

In-state students.
with 4.9-percent
increase, out-of-
state 6.7-percent
By BETHANY BIRON
ManagingNews Editor
JUNE 21, 2012 - The Univer-
sity's Board of Regents voted 5-3
on Thursday to increase tuition
rates by 2.8-percent for in-state
students and 3.5 percent for out-
of-state students for the 2012-
2013 academic year.
The rates will amount to a
hike of $360 for in-state stu-
dents and $1,340 for out-of-state
students and will be paired with
a 10.1-percent increase in avail-
able financial aid for need-based
undergraduate students, total-
ing $144.8 million.
Duringthe meeting, Universi-
ty President Mary Sue Coleman
said the increase in financial aid
will help offset the tuition hike
for students in need.
"For four straight years now,
we have presented a financial
aid budget that covers the full
increase in tuition for our needi-
est students," Coleman said.
"This year's increase in finan-
cial aid will come in the form of
grants, not loans, which helps
reduce (the) student debt bur-
den."
In a press meeting before
the regents meeting, University
Provost Philip Hanlon called
financial aid "the highest priori-
ty in this budget" and expressed
the University's efforts to help
students in need and main-
tain the University experience.
This is the seventh of the past
eight years that financial aid for
undergraduates will increase by

at least 10 percent.
The approved fiscal year 2013
tuition increase is less than that
of fiscal year 2012, in which out-
of-state students experienced
a 6.7-percent increase, and in-
state students accrued a 4.9-per-
cent increase, amounting to
$1,781 and $797 respectively.
Tuition rates will also
increase by 3.6 percent at the
University's Flint campus and
3.7 percent at the University's
Dearborn campus. Additionally,
room'and board rates at the Ann
Arbor campus will increase by 3
percent, totaling $284 for fiscal
year 2013. Two percent of the
increase will be allocated for
ongoing residence hall renova-
tions.
The state appropriation will
be about $273.1 million, increas-
ing 1.6 percent from last year,
and is part of Republican Gov.
Rick Snyder's projected bud-
get that calls for a 3.1-percent
increase in higher education
funding. This follows the fiscal
year 2012 budget, in which the
state's 15 public universities saw
a 15-percent decrease in fund-
ing.
During the press conference,
Hanlon said while the Univer-
sity appreciates its relationship
with the state, the administra-
tion will continue to urge the
government to expand its efforts
to aid state universities that
have suffered repeated cuts over
the course of the last decade.
"We value our long part-
nership with the state, and we
appreciate very much that the
state is increasing its invest-
ment in higher education,"
Hanlon said. "In real terms, the
state appropriations for the Ann
Arbor campus has dropped $178
million over the past 11 years,
and so we urge the state to con-

tinue to make higher education
a priority."
Regents Denise hitch (D-
Binghain Farms), Laurence
Dietch (D-Bingham Farms)
and Andrea Fischer Newman
(R-Ann Arbor) voted against
the tuition increases, express-
ing frustration with the growing
rates and providing suggestions
for other methods of cutting
costs.
. "I think we need a new model,
and I think there are ways to do
it," Newman said in an inter-
view after the meeting. "I think
there are ways to raise revenue."
During the meeting, Ilitch
called the trend of increasing
tuition at the University and
around the nation "unaccept-
able," noting that upwards of
60 percent of the state's college
graduates carry substantial
debt.
"There's one thing that
remains consistent, and that is
that tuition continues to sky-
rocket and the burden on our
students continues to increase,"
Ilitch said.
Regent Julia Darlow (D-Ann
Arbor) echoed Ilitch's senti-
ment about the strains of rising
tuition costs for families, though
she added she was "very pleased
and very impressed" with the
administration's. effort to assist
students through increased
financial aid.
Darlow said vast improve-
ments have been made to aid
students from middle- and low-
income homes, and the average
middle-income student now
pays less than they did in 2004.
In setting the University's
budget, Hanlon noted three
primary goals: maintaining and
expanding the University's aca-
demic- strength and excellence,

At the request of Regent Julia Darlow (D-Ann
Arbor), Provost Philip Hanlon is assembling areport
on tuition equality for undocumented students for
the board's consideration. Members of the Coalition
for Tuition Equality, a student-led alliance aiming
to bringstudents and student organizations togeth-
er in support of tuition equality, have spoken at the
regents' monthly meetings about the circumstances
undocumented students face at the University. The
group hopes the University will change its policy
and, allow undocumented immigrants who have
graduated from Michigan high schools to pay in-
state tuition.
The University should enact this change to open
doors for a more racially and socio-economically
diverse student body. The University prides itself
on its diversity - experience with diversity is raised
as early the admissions application - but as dem-
onstrated by recent incoming freshman classes, the
University can be doing much more, especially in
terms of socio-economic diversity. Recent reports
have shown that 79 percent of college enrolled stu-
dents are in the highest income bracket, but only 34
percent are in the lowest. Lowering tuition would
allow for more high-achieving undocumented immi-
grants to enroll in the University, and increase rep-

resentation for a large but often ignored sector of the
population.
Since CTE's founding this year by Public Policy
junior Kevin Mersol-Barg and LSA freshman Dan-
iel Morales, the organization has made impressive
progress, as evidence by Hanlon's upcoming report.
CTE has successfully brought a wide array of stu-
dent organizations into the conversation on tuition
equality. It's apparent there is campus support for
a policy change, and it's not difficult to understand
why. Many undocumented immigrants came to the
U.S. by no fault of their own and face daily difficul-
ties due to their immigration status. Barring those
students from a more affordable education increases
theirhardship.Other Michiganuniversities, includ-
ing Western Michigan University and Wayne State
University, have policies that allow undocumented
immigrants to pay in-state rates. The University is
in a clear position to be an advocate for education.
Congress hasn't passed the Development, Relief
and Education for Alien Minors Act, which would
grant citizenship toundocumented minors after liv-
ing in the country for five years, since its introduc-
tion in 2001. Because of this lack of federal action,
the University is obligated to support education and
student diversity by enacting tuition equality.

Students advocate
for tuition equal ity

See REGENTS, Page 7C

THE BIGGEST & NEWEST BACK TO SCHOOL
PD TER SALE
Al
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Group organizes
at regents meeting
advocating for new
policy
By PAIGE PEARCY
Daily News Editor
FEB. 17, 2012 - When LSA
freshman Daniel Morales was
first admitted to the University; he
deferred the start of his freshman
year because his family couldn't
afford the out-of-state tuition rate
without financial aid.
At the time, Morales was an
undocumented resident.
Due to his lack of citizenship,
Morales, who attended high school
in Michigan, was not offered in-
state tuition or financial aid.Yester-
day, Morales told the University's
Board of Regents his story at its
monthly meeting, advocating for
a policy change that would allow
undocumented Michigan residents
to pay in-state tuition.
Currently, undocumented
students must pay out-of-state
tuition and are not eligible for
financial aid.
This year, the cost difference
between the in-state and out-
of-state rate for a full-time LSA
freshman is about $25,000.
"For the first time in my life, I
came close to giving up," Morales
said. "But students like myself,
the thousands of us who graduate
from Michigan high schools every
year with the hopes of bettering
our communities and lives, do not
simply give up. Iwas an American
at heart and more definitely, I was
a wolverine."
Morales addressed the board
during the public'comments sec-
tion of the meeting and spoke
about his struggle to attend the
University.
"I come here today to proudly
tell you my story because it rep-
resents the absolute complex-
ity of this issue," Morales said
at the meeting. "I am here today
because we would like to work

with you to remedy this injustice,
alleviate inequal access to higher
education for undocumented stu-
dents and to invest in a rich and
truly diverse experience for all
Michigan students."
Morales spoke on behalf of the
Coalition for Tuition Equality, a
student organization founded by
Public Policy junior Kevin Mer-
sol-Barg when he started his term
last fall as an LSA representative
in Central Student Government.
Mersol-Barg, who is running
for CSG president, said he hopes
the regents will collaborate with
the coalition.
"I'm hoping that they recip-
rocate our offer to work with
them, that they would too want to
work with us," Mersol-Barg said.
"When Daniel spoke they looked
very receptive."
Morales echoed Mersol-Barg's
sentiments, and said in an inter-
view after the meeting he'hopes
the University will work with the
organization to increase college
accessibility and affordability for
all students.
"My biggest hope is that they
will work with our coalition to
craft a new policy which is more
inclusive to all students from the
state of Michigan, and that we can
regain our status as a progressive
and fair school that gives any stu-
dent who is deserving of that edu-
cation a great education."
Mersol-Barg said he formed
the coalition, which is comprised
of representatives from various
student groups, because he saw an
injustice and wanted to fix it. He
said the number of undocumented
students at the University is not
possible to determine but is likely
very small; which could be due to
their difficulties affording tuition.
"This is a pressing issue for stu-
dents not only here at the Univer-
sity but even more students that
are very talented and bright and
can't be here," Mersol-Barg said.
After the speech, Morales said
though he was nervous before
he spoke, the nerves faded as he
began talking and he received
positive feedback from the

regents and people in attendance
at the meeting.
"Once I was up there, and once
I began to speak, I was kind of
amazed at the positive receptive-
ness of the entire board of regents
as a whole," Morales said. "I felt
they were very receptive to the
overall message once I was fin-
ished delivering the speech."
In his speech, Morales said
during the year he deferred
his enrollment, he sought and
received residency, which quali-
fied him to pay the in-state rate:
"As soon as I mentioned how
my acceptance to the University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor was rid-
ing on this, the ICE agent's eyes.
shot up from his desk, and he
smiled; he was a Michigan Wol-
verine," Morales said.
At the end of Morales's speech
when he mentioned the different
student organizations that con-
tribute to the coalition, members
stood up around the roomholding
signs naming their representative
groups - including Central Stu-
dent Government, American Civil
Liberties Union-Undergraduate
Chapter, Latino Students Orga-
nization and Muslim Students'
Association - then walked out
of the Regents' Room on the first
floor of the Fleming Administra-
tion Building.
Though the timer went off that
indicated Morales's five-minutes
of allotted speaking time was up,
the room remained silent, and he
quickly finished the last few sen-
tences of his speech.
Upon commencing his speech,
regents Laurence Deitch (D-
Bingham Farms) and Andrea
Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor)
commended him and the mem-
bers of the coalition for attending
the meeting.
Morales said he was encour-
aged to speak at the regents meet-
ing by E. Royster Harper, vice
president for student affairs, at a
town hall meeting on Feb.8.
"I went directly to the source
because I thought that was the
way that change can come about,"
Morales said.

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