Despite student-led protests during its proposal, 12 out of the 23 CSU campuses now require what administrators call the Student Success Fee.
It’s more like, “Student Suppress Fee.”
This mandatory payment is a type of category II campus-based cost that students must pay in order to enroll or attend certain CSU campuses.
The annual fees are determined by each campus and range anywhere from $35 to $780.
Tuition has been frozen at $5,472 for the past three years. Is this fee not just another way to integrate a hidden tuition increase?
Campus-based fees have risen 283 percent since 2002, increasing nearly every year, according to the Sonoma State Star.
CSU Chancellor Timothy White, along with the Board of Trustees, approved the Student Success Fee for several campuses across the state.
A survey regarding the fee was given to CSU students in 2012, according to the Sonoma State Star. Results showed 68 percent of surveyors claimed the cost would force them to take on more loans while 59 percent said they would need more job hours in order to make payments.
“We pay more than enough for books, tuition and parking as it is.  Where is all this money going?” Igdalia Covarrubias (senior, English) said with concern.  “I think it’s going to keep increasing.  Protesting didn’t even matter since they just passed the fee. Our voices aren’t being heard.”
To reiterate Covarrubias, where exactly is our money going?
In the same year (coincidentally) as this suspicious fee was implemented, the California State University Board of Trustees also approved a 3 percent salary increase for CSU executives.
According to The Daily Aztec, San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman will have his compensation increased to $412,000 with a $50,000 supplement, a $1,000 car allowance and housing expenses provided for him.
This makes Hirshman the highest compensated CSU executive, currently second only to Chancellor White, who makes $410,000 with a $30,000 supplement and provided housing expenses.
Let me get this straight: Students are forced to pay a disguised tuition fee while executives get a substantial raise?  Red flag!  Something needs to be done about this.