College to Waive Tuition for South African Blacks

The Santa Monica College Board of Trustees voted to waive tuition for one year for black students from South Africa in the hopes that the move will lead to more financial help from the United Nations.

The waiver, which would save the students up to $1,500 a semester, will help “alleviate a financial situation that’s a severe burden” on the students, said college President Richard Moore.

The students are not eligible for financial aid from the government and are on visas that prohibit them from taking any jobs except on campus, Moore said.

The idea for the waiver came about last year when the college learned that a few of its black South African students, who had transferred from UCLA, were getting stipends from the United Nations, Moore said.

College officials asked the United Nations about getting stipends directly and were told that one factor is whether the college waives tuition for such students, Moore said.