She spoke at Cooper Union, a private college in Manhattan's East Village where Abraham Lincoln once gave a speech against slavery.

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"I pray that Berea College never falls into the same traps as Cooper Union, " Robinson wrote.

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Cooper Union's tuition debate has also affected alumni at Berea College in Kentucky, which admits only low-income students and offers them all a tuition-free education.

WSJ: Famed free NYC college may start charging tuition