Universities: A Squabble over Semantics

Facing up to the question of how to finance expansion and maintain quality, the hard-pressed regents of the University of California last week rejected Governor Ronald Reagan’s plan to levy a tuition charge a year from now, then turned around to endorse an unspecified increase in student fees. As a result, both Reagan and his opponents among the regents could claim a moral victory—but it was also clear that tuition at the state university is still an extremely touchy issue in politically volatile California.

At a heated meeting in Los Angeles, Reagan initially proposed to charge an annual $250 tuition on top of the present student fees, which average $250.

After some speakers had had their say, he finally demanded simply a vote on the basic issue. “I want a yea or nay vote on the principle of tuition,” he said. “I’m against the hypocrisy of calling tuition something else.” Reagan’s motion was defeated 14 to 7, but later the regents agreed, by voice vote, to name a special committee that will suggest new “fees” for next year to finance “student aid, faculty enrichment, and/or other uses”—apparently the same things that Reagan’s tuition charge was supposed to pay for.

The board’s action, summed up Regent William M. Roth, “is like keeping your virginity and having fun too.”

However ambiguous, the decision may enable Reagan, who pushed a big tax hike through the California legislature this year, to get by without seeking a further increase for university operations next year.