Would $500 each month help Fresno State students finish school? We want to hear from you
Fresno State students could possibly receive an extra $500 a month under a new proposal for a Universal Basic Income program at five California State Universities.
Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, and Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, are developing legislation they hope to formally present to the California Legislature next month.
The proposal’s latest draft would establish UBI pilot projects at five California State University campuses — Fresno State, Los Angeles, San Francisco State, CSU East Bay, and San Jose State.
On Monday, a handful of Fresno State students reached out to The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab saying such a program could be a game-changer for many of the university’s nearly 25,000 students.
“We are in 2022 and live in California. Times are different now and things are just getting more expensive. I unfortunately do not qualify for financial aid due to me having a full time job and it is a struggle for me to finance things I need,” said Kayla-Denyse Martinez, a mass communications major and junior at Fresno State.
“This would be amazing especially for a single mother of five who is working part-time going to school full-time and interning,” Fresno State student Victoria Rocha said.
The Education Lab is setting up a listening session with college students to talk about Universal Basic Income, student financial aid and how UBI could help them.
If you are interested in participating in one of these listening sessions please pick the time and day that works best for you. If you can’t attend a listening session we’d still love to hear from you. Email us at edlab@fresnobee.com
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 5:09 PM.