Opponents of the proposed $22,000 tuition price tag at the University of Toronto law school may be afraid to voice their concerns openly, according to a National Post article released Tuesday. The article stated that student and faculty members want to organize a secret ballot to vote on the increase, so those who oppose the hike can state their opinion without fear of retribution.

Law school dean Ron Daniels outlined the proposed raise in a draft of the “Report of the 2001/02 Task Force on the Future of the Faculty.” The report recognizes U of T law as being “among the dozen or so world class law faculties,” stressing “the need to continue to invest intellectual and material resources in the Faculty to hold (and improve) our position in an increasingly competitive peer group.”

The report emphasized the need for a enhanced financial aid program to address the five-year, $2,000-a-year rise in tuition, recommending “a significantly strengthened back-end debt relief program.”

Of the 20 student and faculty members of the task force, three did not endorse the document. Martha Shaffer, the only staff member on the force who dissented, stated her opposition at the end of the report.

“I cannot support a proposal that would push tuition to such high levels,” she wrote. “High tuition levels present an often insurmountable barrier to students of modest financial means. They undermine the goal of diversity in law schools and in the legal profession as they make it even more difficult for members of traditionally underrepresented groups to obtain a legal education.”

Michelle Henry, a student member of the law school faculty council, had no comments on the secret ballot idea, but did say many student representatives are unhappy with the proposed changes.

“Student members would rather that tuition not go up in the interest of accessibility. Given that, however, it won’t be our decision to make,” she reflected.

Sandra Chu, co-president of Students in Law for the Advancement of Minorities (SLAM) reiterated Professor Shaffer’s concerns about how the increase will affect the cultural make-up of the student body.

“Diversity will be affected because accessibility will be limited,” said Chu. She emphasized that immigrant and native groups, who are often the most economically marginalized, will be hardest-hit by the rising tuition.

“Regardless of what the dean says about back-end debt relief, because of the increases people won’t go to this law school anymore”

Last Wednesday, a student town hall meeting was held by Daniels to discuss the issue, and he plans to meet with student group leaders today about the proposed changes. He could not be reached for comment.