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Florida Students Advance Tuition Equity Campaign

By Michela

Conor Munro of SDS addresses the Student Senate.

Gainesville, FL — Students at the University of Florida successfully advanced their campaign of tuition equity for undocumented students. Leading student organizations joined together to pass a resolution through Student Government in favor of tuition equality.

Currently, an undocumented immigrant student who grows up in Florida must pay out-of-state tuition to take classes at the Florida institution, despite graduating from a Florida high school. Out-of-state tuition costs three times that of in-state tuition, a hefty price to pay.

University of Florida Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) members joined by members of CHISPAS, Hispanic Student Association, Asian Student Union and Black Student Union all spoke on behalf of the resolution during public debate.

Conor Munro, a lead organizer of SDS and author of the resolution, spoke persuasively to the student senators on the issue, “These students have worked just as hard as any student graduating from high school, they deserve the chance to continue to seek higher education.”

The resolution passed with an overwhelming 73-3 vote count.

With student support on their side, UF SDS now looks forward to approaching the Board of Trustees, with the power to change tuition policy and make it fair. SDS plans to mobilize for the Board meeting, demanding, “Tuition Equity for Undocumented Students!”

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