WSU students protest cuts and hikes

A peaceful sit-in at WSU Thursday.

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Story Published: Feb 5, 2010 at 12:08 AM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 5, 2010 at 8:24 AM PDT

By Anne Harding

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PULLMAN - Proposed cuts and tuition increases prompted some WSU students to take a stand Thursday. Or rather a sit.

Thursday afternoon students walked out of their classes and took part in what they called a peaceful protest outside the CUB.

Tuition at WSU will go up 14 percent each year for the next two years, while almost 360 positions are expected to be cut. Students said they hope the demonstration shows university administrators how unhappy students are with paying more to attend a university that's planning to offer less.

"For many people, especially like me, you know I immigrated from East Africa here, and you know our parents can't support us," said WSU Human Development/ Global Politics Major Semone Andu. "We get our support through financial aid and if they cut that, there is no way for us to go to school. I'm almost done with my schooling, but I have brothers and cousins that are still freshmen, so I'm sure it's going to affect them greatly."

Over 100 students held signs, sang songs and shared their opinions during the noon hour rally. Those participating said it was great to see so many people involved.

"Even if there's two people, that's still a statement," said Andu. "And I'm sure more people will come."

"I heard that some teachers have actually cancelled their classes and are requiring their students to go, or giving their students extra credit to go," said WSU Fine Arts Major Lauren Price. "That's really exciting, that the teachers are trying to help us out too with our cause."

About 100 students had gathered as of the noon hour, with the protest scheduled to last two hours.

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