"Community college students gathered in and outside the governor’s San Diego office to voice their concerns with the higher education budget cuts."San Diego City College students protested at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office Monday - demanding changes to the state’s budget to offset the cuts made to higher education.
The students, who are also members of City College organization Bringing Education and Activism Together or BEAT, say they are faced with fewer classes for their buck and a longer road to graduation because of the millions cut to the California Community College system.
About 30 students gathered outside of the state office Monday evening seizing signs that read statements such as, “Don’t ruin our future” and “Return California’s education system.” The rally was a conclusion to a day-long dissent of the Governor after nine students occupied Schwarzenegger’s lobby in the morning hours. The nine students, who say they felt “placated” by the Governor’s representatives, had three students speak via telephone with Schwarzenegger’s Director of External Affairs Bismarck Obando. Schwarzenegger, however, was not available to speak.
“They just want to make their presence and concerns known,” said BEAT faculty advisor and political science professor Larissa Dorman. “The cuts are happening because of the two-thirds majority vote required in the Legislature and the fact that a third of the lawmakers are neo-liberals, pure capitalists, who believe education should just be thrown away.”
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-04/politics-city-county-government/community-college-students-present-%E2%80%98demands%E2%80%99-to-schwarzenegger#ixzz0bk3Z6MTX