{"id":165873,"date":"2021-01-29T10:28:43","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T07:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/columbia-students-stage-covid-19-related-tuition-strike\/"},"modified":"2021-01-29T10:28:43","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T07:28:43","slug":"columbia-students-stage-covid-19-related-tuition-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/columbia-students-stage-covid-19-related-tuition-strike\/","title":{"rendered":"#Columbia students stage COVID-19 related tuition strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Columbia students stage COVID-19 related tuition strike<\/strong>”
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Over 1,000 students at New York City\u2019s Columbia University are withholding this semester\u2019s tuition payments, demanding a 10 percent decrease in tuition and a 10 percent increase in financial aid for students burdened by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The strike, which was organized by the Columbia chapter of the Young Democratic Social<\/a>ists of America, began in December when over 3,000 students signed a petition that the student organization circulated online. The strike officially commenced last Friday \u2014 the day tuition checks were officially due.<\/p>\n

In a statement on the group\u2019s website<\/a>, titled \u201cWe\u2019re Striking Because We Know Our History,\u201d organizers cite \u201cpast student-movements at Columbia\u201d \u2014 including 1968 anti-Vietnam War protests and a variety of student-led social justice movements that took root during the 2010s \u2014 as inspiration for the current tuition strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese protests had long-lasting effects on Columbia but, most importantly, they showed who truly holds power on college campuses: students,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

The students are also demanding that Columbia use some of its $11 billion endowment to alleviate the financial burden the pandemic has placed on them. <\/p>\n

University figures show Columbia tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year is almost $59,000<\/a>, and undergraduate students finish on average with almost $22,000 in student debt, according to US News and World Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a tweet, the Columbia YDSA Tuition Strike account pointed out that the school also employs Lee Bollinger, the second-highest paid president<\/a> in the Ivy League, who has not taken a pay cut since the beginning of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

In addition to the tuition demands, strike organizers have also called for a number of social justice and climate change reforms, such as a divestment from fossil fuel companies, negotiations with student-worker unions, and a\u00a0halt to construction on the school\u2019s new Manhattanville campus to stop the gentrification of the Harlem area.<\/p>\n

Organizers are also demanding administrators honor the results of a referendum passed last year and divest from companies involved with human rights abuses in Palestine.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Fox News<\/a>, Columbia contended that it had already made pandemic-related changes to the university\u2019s tuition system, and that it welcomes all input from students on how to \u201cstrengthen\u201d the University.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn response to the COVID-19 crisis, the University modified its late fee policy in March of 2020 and suspended all late fees until January 2021,\u201d a spokesperson for Columbia University said Thursday. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs communicated previously, beginning on January 22, 2021, a late payment fee of $150 will be assessed for any unpaid charges remaining from bills issued before and on December 18, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a moment when an active reapp<\/a>raisal of the status quo is understandable, and we expect nothing less from our\u00a0students. Their voices are heard by Columbia\u2019s leadership, and their views on strengthening the University are welcomed.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n