Haskell may hike fees

Recently, Haskell Indian Nations University President Linda Sue Warner proposed increasing student fees each semester from $215 to $1,000.

Some students and alumni argue that the increase could make the school too expensive for some students, causing the current enrollment of about 900 students to drop lower.

One alumnus said he thinks that the increase violates basic treaty rights agreed on by the United States government.

"The treaty obligation states that Indian education is free to native Americans. They have no right to do this," said James Sanderville, filmmaker and Haskell alumnus.

Warner said that the increase does not violate treaty obligations because it is an increase in fees, not in tuition. She said that the extra money would go toward improvements at Haskell.

"The real burning question has been 'are we going to be a university or not?'" said Warner. "If you're going to be a university, there's some things universities do."

Warner said that the money could go to hiring full-time professors instead of adjuncts. She said most students would not have trouble covering the extra cost, especially with scholarships and Pell Grants.