The Mayor of Providence, Rode Island proposed to tax the 25,000 full-time college students at Brown University and other private colleges in the city of $150 per semester.

Mayor David Ciciline said “the fee would raise $6 - $8 million a year for the city, which is facing $17 million deficit”

The proposal is still in the early stage but it has riled some of Brown University’s students, who said it is unfair to force them to saddle the city’s debt. This only proves that the city has clearly overlooked their volunteer work and other contributions including the money they spent in restaurants, bars and stores.

“We want to support the city as best as we can but financially is not really what we can afford” said Heather Lee, President of Brown Graduate Student Council. “We are more able to provide labor, apply the things that we are learning in the classroom, than we are to write a $300 check.”

College students are already involved in tutoring, arts education and mentoring for public schoolteachers. For instance, Providence College offers students to staff-after-school programs and Brown University is raising money for a $10 million endowment to help the city’s school system.

Even so, Mayor Ciciline said that everyone is expected to help the city through the economic crisis. He wants students to have a vested interest in the city instead of seeing themselves as visitors who are just passing through.

“It is really about a shared commitment to the well-being of your community that you are a part of,” Mayor Ciciline had said. “Everyone should be doing their part and coming to the table.”

Students at Rhode Island College, a state school in the city and the Providence campus of the University of Rhode Island are exempted.

If enacted, it would be the first time that a U.S city has directly taxed college students just for being enrolled.

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