Students protest college tuition hikes

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) -- Students who go to state universities say they can't afford the tuition hikes the state is proposing. On Monday students protested the increase at Central Connecticut State University.

The promise of a limitless future, that's the tantilizing sell for college students who achieve the coveted degree but frankly, dreams can be hard to come by when loans are anchoring you down. Just ask Naugatuck freshman Art Keung.

"It's a very large burden that I have to carry and that my parents have to carry as well," said Keung.

Keung was one of dozens of students protesting the proposed tuition hike in the state university system. Some faculty members also share their frustrations.

"It's horrendous. It's an absolute violation of public commitment to social improvement. We are in a high-tech society, the people who come here are not rich, and they are ripping them off," said Dr. Jane Fried, CCSU Professor.

"We obviously have students who are having difficulty paying their rent, who have multiple jobs. There are students who live in cars, who have to live in subpar conditions just so that they can afford to have what's supposed to be a public education," said Dr. Jason Snider, CCSU Professor.

It is believed the state will raise the cost of in-state tuition by about five percent for the fall of 2013, off-setting state budget cuts.

Officials are lowering the cost for out-of-state students, hoping that will address a decreasing student population.

"I don't know how I'm going to pay for it in the future," said Keung.

Students say the Board of Regents is dimming a bright dream, one that will be mired in debt and stress long after a cap and gown are worn.

"Sure it's a state college and a little less than other colleges, but it's still money I'm going to have keep paying for a very long time," said Keung.

You can call this protest take one because the same group of students that organized Monday's event are planning to protest a Board of Regents meeting, where is a vote is expected to be held, on a tuition hike.