Letter to the Editor

Fee hikes are offensive

One of the big selling points of UCLA is that it is a high quality education for a smaller price than many private universities.

This point was particularly important to me as an incoming freshman with no means of support other than my own money.

UCLA is, on the surface, much less expensive than a private university with the same standard of academic excellence.

However, given these fee hikes, we won’t have that bragging right for long. As a matter of fact, we may have already lost it.

Though UCLA is cheaper, it only meets statistically 81 percent of a student’s financial need each year, with top-ranking private universities around the U.S. often reaching 100 percent of financial need. As the expenses for students grow, we will see this chasm grow more and more, until going to a state school becomes a burden.

The state of California desperately needs to examine its priorities.

Most students here are legal adults, U.S. citizens California residents, who are all being given the burden of paying off the problems of previous generations.

I find it offensive to “come into adulthood” at UCLA, having to make up for older, more experienced adults’ mistakes.

Please don’t take this letter as a lack of Bruin pride. I love this school, but if fees continue to increase, we won’t be able to pay for the school that I am so proud to attend.

Mikael Miller

First-year, linguistics