It's Official

UC students, say hello to the new 32% fee increase.

This is a sad day in California education.

I Am Disgusted

I am so angry right now. I am angry with the UC Regents. I am angry with the police who tear gassed and tased students for protesting. I am angry with the representatives who are reporting to the media that the police did not use force, or however John Kim said they're describing it. I am angry with this feeling of helplessness I have; this feeling that I cannot do anything to protect my spopper who was tear gassed. I am angry with the fact that I cannot go to UCLA today to participate in the protest. I am angry with the opposition to the student protests and the support for the 32% fee increase.

Never in my life have I felt so much anger toward an institution, and felt so helpless about it. It sounds dramatic, but the UC Regents' decision to increase fees by 32% has made me lose faith in people. How are we, the next generation, expected to pull the nation and the economy out of the current slump when we can't even afford to pay for our education for the future? How am I to believe that I will be able to seek aid from others in the future when people are so willing to take away our opportunities? How am I to believe that I can protect those I love when I can't even be there to support and protect my spopper at the protest?

I am truly disgusted with the decision, and I hope that the regents do not finalize their vote confirming the 32% increase. I hope that thousands of students don't have to drop out of school because they can't afford it, and there's no funding to help them pay for it. I hope that people will see the effects this will have in the long run.

I guess hope is really all we have in times like these...

I wish I had finished my paper earlier. I have not gone to sleep prior to 4 or 5 AM all week. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I feel like I don't have the energy to make it through a day. I just wish I could pause and nap for a few days and then pick things back up.

Sleep, we shall be reunited soon.

The Fees are Increasing!

I was linked to this article by a friend recently, and was directed toward the comments section. I don't understand how older people can criticize us for wanting help to pay for our education by calling us needy and perfect examples of the "Me" generation, when their reasoning for not wanting us to protest is so THEY don't have to pay for our education.

The whole "me" generation goes both ways.

And for that matter, I wouldn't necessarily call my generation the "me" generation. It's not a generational thing. It's a cultural thing. How many people do you see in Southern California driving BMWs and Lexuses and other luxury vehicles? A LOT. I bet most people who drive those cars buy them mostly because they want to be noticed for their social status. Don't sit around and call us a greedy generation when you're driving around in your $100k car.

Orange County pisses me off, sometimes.