Eight college and university presidents stood united today against a proposed 1 percent tuition tax on students that they consider unfair and illegal.

"We respectfully and vigorously disagree with the mayor that the solution to years of financial woes for the city should be found on the backs of students bettering themselves and in many cases the regional workforce that will help keep the city of Pittsburgh and the region in a ever challenging national and international marketplace," said Mary Hines, president of Carlow University and chairwoman of the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education, a coalition of 10 institutions in Allegheny County.

She was responding to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's proposal yesterday to impose a Post-Secondary Education Privilege Tax or "Fair Share Tax" on the tuition paid by students attending colleges, universities and trade schools in the city. The tax would be collected by the schools they attend.