More than 1,000 Ohio University students signed a petition last week to fight a potential 3.5 percent tuition increase.
The signatures were gathered during a 10-hour span last week, an effort spearheaded by junior Jacob Chaffin of the Ohio Student Association. The group held signs and gathered signatures both at the top of Morton Hill and at the Baker University Center.
“We started the petition as a way of holding conversations with students about the issues at hand,” said Chaffin. “As students, we have this belief that the debt we take on is individual and as if we are the only ones that are hurt by the long term effects of increasing tuition. This isn't the case.”
The OU Board of Trustees will vote at its next meeting on the potential increase, which would go into effect during the 2012-2013 academic year. The group is currently waiting to present the petition to OU President Roderick McDavis once he has the Budget Planning Council’s report on the proposed increase.
“We want the to realize that tuition hikes are a short-term answer to the university’s financial situation with long-term consequences for all of us,” Chaffin added.
