Kings and Dalhousie students protest high tuition fees

Student activists at Dalhousie University and the University of Kings College in Halifax protested Wednesday against rising tuition fees by handing out free instant noodles to students.

"Tuition fees are so highthat they [students]can't afford basic necessities like groceries,"saidCharlotte Kiddell, the Nova Scotia chair ofthe Canadian Federation of Students.

The federation is calling for freetuition and has organized a nationwide student walkout on Nov. 2to urgePrime Minister JustinTrudeauto live up to his pre-election talk about supporting post-secondary students.

In April,Dalhousie's board of governors approved a general tuition hike of three per cent,along with additional increasesfor some programs such as engineering.

According to the university's online calculator, full-timeDal undergraduate students will pay anywhere from $5,430 to$10,121 this year in tuition and incidental fees, depending on the program of study.

Kings student EthanSpeigelsaidhe supportsthe federations'scall for free post-secondary education.

"One of the laws recently passed in Ontario is that families of lowincome under $50,000per year get free tuition.And I think that's an incredible initiative that Nova Scotia should follow," he said.

A meeting with the PM

In January, Kiddell spoke to Trudeau as part of a special CBC program. She saidtheir conversation focused mainly on the cost of a university or college education.

"He had a lot of inspiring things to say, but there's been a really disappointing lack of action and I want to see that change,"said Kiddell.

She saidthe University of Kings College is a good example of what happens when tuition fees increase. She said student enrolment is down andmost of the students registered come from families in the two highest income brackets.

Kiddell is specific about what would constitute fair tuition fees.

"I would say no tuition is reasonable tuition," she said.