In Arizona, 230% College Tuition Hike Comes With A Side Of Xenophobia

by Carol Scott · 2011-05-27 09:28:00 UTC
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Earlier this year, students on college campuses around the world demonstrated against a spate of hefty tuition hikes, from the University of California to the University of London.

But a new 230 percent tuition hike for some Arizona community college students comes with a new, disturbing twist: xenophobia.

The Maricopa County Community College system - the largest in Arizona - announced in March a 230% tuition hike for out-of-state students. The kicker? Unlike some college tuition increases, this one isn't about tighter budgets - it's a veiled attempt to shut out undocumented students from college classes.

Here's the legal backstory: Arizonans in 2006 voted to prevent undocumented students -- even those who have lived in Arizona since childhood -- from in-state status, meaning they have to pay out-of-state tuition if they go to college. In 2009, state lawmakers pass HB 2008, barring any undocumented resident from receiving any "public benefit" -- i.e. food, housing and health services.

Are community college classes a "public benefit?" Maricopa County Community College officials say that they are, so they're hiking tuition for "out-of-state" -- read: undocumented -- students way up, claiming that this will ensure they're following the new law. In other words, they're helping anti-immigrant activists not only bar undocumented residents from emergency health care and food stamps, but education, too. (Of note: One of the board members who approved the hike, Debra Pearson, is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, reports the Phoenix New Times.)

Who does this matter the most to? DREAMers - undocumented youth who've lived in the U.S. since childhood, see the U.S. as their only home and desperately want to earn legal citizenship. The DREAM Act is a bipartisan piece of legislation that would allow youth brought to the U.S. as children to achieve citizenship after serving in the armed forces or completing two years of college classes. Barring undocumented students from college is a mean-spirited attempt to lash out at just these students - and could add even more barriers to their path to becoming full citizens.

Arizona DREAM activist Carmen Cornejo has started a petition on Change.org, demanding that Maricopa's Chancellor undo the 230% tuition hike and focus on helping students get an education, not barring them from classes. Add your voice today.

Local students, business leaders and state officials are fighting the decision, saying this week at a MCCC board meeting that it passed without necessary discussion and research, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Photo credit: maveric2003 via Flickr

Carol Scott is the Education Editor for Change.org.

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