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Following the lead of student protesters in California, the newly-founded Idaho Students Organization held a sit-in at the state capitol in response to the State Board of Education's (SBOE) anticipated increase in fees and tuition at five state universities.

Although only 15 students took part in the protest on Monday, Jason Denizac, the co-founder of the Idaho Student Organization and Boise State University (BSU) senior, said in an interview with the student newspaper the Arbiter that the sit-in was an important first step in increasing student activism in the state and preparing to fight bills that could harm student interests in the following legislative session.

Denizac said that Idaho is currently nationally ranked 49th both for the number of high school students who go to college directly after they graduate, and for the number of students that stay in college after completing their freshman year.

“My yearly fees have gone up $710 since I was a freshman in 2006. This is a dangerous trend. No wonder so few Idaho high schoolers go on to college. It hurts my generation’s job prospects,” Denizac said  to the Arbiter. He said that he was motivated to start the group after observing the student protests in California.

Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU) senator Chase Johnson and co-founder of the the Idaho Students Organization, said the group will have more influence next year once it begins to hold monthly meetings and works more closely with student governments. Already, the group has board members from all of Idaho's state universities.

Boise State Vice President for Finance and Administration Stacy Pearson said that even if the SBOE approves fee and tuition increases for next year, the Idaho university system will still experience a budget deficit.

"The state budget reductions have been hard to absorb financially. Our goal is to serve students. The key is for them to get their degree, not just to attend," said Pearson.

BSU students had previously criticized the proposed increase in fees and tuition by the State Board of Education because the SBOE had planned to increase tuition for full-time students by 8.9 percent, while decreasing tuition for part-time students by 7.9 percent.

The SBOE will not make their decision until they review all the information submitted by the universities in the system.

More from the Arbiter at Boise State