State Students Will Likely Find Little Relief From Fee Hikes, Despite Jerry Brown Taking the Governor's Seat

Brown said he won't fight fee hikes his first year as governor

Trustees on the board's finance committee voted 6-1 to raise tuition by 5 percent in the winter and spring terms and another 10 percent in the fall.

That will result in a big jump in costs for undergrads, who will now have to pay

$4,884 in the coming year.

CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said next year's increase is needed to cover costs related to increases in student enrollment.

Meanwhile, UC students may face a fee hike of 8 percent, bringing up their tuition to $11,124 a year.

Those thinking that newly elected California governor, Jerry Brown, can somehow turn back the hands of time and stop further fee hikes will be sadly mistaken.

Urban legend has it that "Moonbeam" Brown did not raise college fees or raised them by some infinitesimal amount during his past tenure as governor from 1975 to 1983.

But according to California Watch, that couldn't be further from the truth.

UC students saw a 32 percent fee increase in the 1982-83 school year, which is about the same fee increase amount that the UC Regents approved last November.

The Brown of today doesn't propose to do anything different.

During a gubernatorial debate in September, he said he wouldn't reverse recent fee hikes his first year, but that he'd "do the best I can" not to raise fees in the coming years.

In the meantime, Cal State students shouldn't be holding their breath.

Perhaps it will take many more knock-down fights with the legislature and street protests before the new governor is compelled to bring back public college tuition fees to acceptable levels.