Published: Tuesday, March 2, 2010
 "Photo: Michael Chan Yee / Daily 49er")
Michael Chan Yee / Daily 49er
Victoria Rodriguez, a graduate school counseling major, walks past two “Deliver 100” boxes Monday afternoon outside of the Beach Hut. The boxes are part of the upcoming March 4 rally and protests. 10 boxes were placed in the parking structures, dorms and student union. Baktaash Sorkhabi and Spenser Garden, both junior graphic design majors, designed the boxes. The slogan “Deliver 100” stands for the state’s promise to fund 100 percent to education before cutting it by 20 percent, Sorkhabi said.
Of all the rallies and protests held throughout the year, the March 4 protest promises to be different: It will be the first time in recent California history that members from all segments of the public education system will simultaneously protest cuts to education.
According to a California Faculty Association press release, budget cuts have already sliced the California State University budget by more than $1 billion and have eliminated more than 2,000 employees. At the same time, student fees have increased more than 30 percent.
The March 4 protest will give a chance to all those who are upset to express their disappointment.
Claudia Ramirez, student organizer of Students for Quality Education, said in an e-mail that the purpose of the protest is to make noise so that the campus and Long Beach community are aware of how students have been affected by the budget cuts.
“We believe that the budget cuts, fee increases and furloughs are a direct injustice to the lives of students and the future of California,” Ramirez said. “Public education is an essential social service that everyone should be entitled to, regardless of economic situations.”
According to the CFA press release, the protest will be a unified effort of education supporters from all segments of public education in California. Protest organizers will host rallies, demonstrations and other types of events on all 23 CSU campuses and at other locations across the state.
Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed in his 2010-11 budget a restoration of $305 million to the CSU system, the money will not be enough to fill the hole the budget cuts have made. CSUs are being forced to turn away thousands of new eligible students, while current students suffer because of an increase in student fees and the inability to enroll in necessary classes.
