The Fees Battle Rages On

Although the domino theory may have lost credence in the past few years, administrators at Brandeis and UMass probably have not given up on it.

Both campuses were struck this week with the same problems that rocked Brown's campus for the past two months--student protests caused by rising tuition.

But for Brandeis, the similarities did not stop there. In a tactical duplication of what happened at Brown a small group of students took over a university building to drive home their complaints about rising costs and budget cutbacks.

Students from UMass-Amherst, UMass-Boston and Boston State College took a different tack, rallying on the Boston Common to protest a 10-per-cent cutback in spending.

But even more similar than the students' reactions to the possibilities of paying more and getting less, was the reaction of both schools' administrations to the protests.

As in the case of Brown, the Brandeis administration has so far flatly refused to negotiate any demands to change its budget set-up for next year.

Nor has Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the target of the 2000 state school students who rallied at the Common Wednesday, given much of an indication that the students' demands will be met.

Twenty-three beleaguered college administrations--members of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education--last week took their financial woes to Washington, as the group recommended some sweeping changes in the way the federal government dishes out its student loans.

If Congress, the recipient of the consortium's plans, moves on the proposal, students involved in the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant may gain about $200 over what they had been receiving from the program before.

Those who advocate the changes, including R. Jerrold Gibson '51, Harvard's director of student loans, claim that their recommendations will establish some sorely needed coordination in the nation's loan program.