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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing? Groups Fight Reduction in Tuition at NC HBCUs

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Thursday, June 2, 2016   

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's a proposal that sounds like a great idea: lowering tuition at five of the state's historically black colleges and universities to $500 a semester for in-state students. But opponents say Senate Bill 873 will have far-reaching negative affects on the schools involved. The legislation cleared the Senate committee last week after lawmakers said the state would spend $70 million to cover the revenue loss, but Tyler Swanson, field secretary for NC NAACP, said the bill would still negatively impact the schools.

"This is a old trick from the extremists' handbook," he said. "It's a gimmick because at the end of the day the ultimate goal is to push these institutions into bankruptcy or some type of trade school, which we're not standing for."

If passed, starting in 2018, tuition would drop at Western Carolina, UNC Pembroke, Winston-Salem State, Elizabeth City State and Fayetteville State. According to Southern Vision, the state's five historically black colleges and universities granted 47 percent more degrees to black students than the UNC system's 11 other campuses in 2011. Supporters say the bill would attract more students to colleges struggling with enrollment and finances.

For in-state students at 11 other universities, the tuition they pay for their freshman year would remain the same for at least eight semesters, but Swanson said if lawmakers really want to make college more affordable, they would make a change for everyone.

"Putting a cap on it, you're going to force those institutions, they're going to lose so much revenue," he added. "Instead of putting a cap on it, why don't you cut tuition by five to ten percent across the board?"

Groups who oppose the legislation including the NAACP, NC Vote Defenders and others are calling for the legislation to be withdrawn, for lawmakers to increase funding for all public universities and for all workers on campus to be paid living wages and have better job security.

The full bill can be read online here.


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