Finally, students, parents, faculty and administrators are coming to the right place to confront the governor and lawmakers about the state's eroding commitment to higher education – and public education in general.
It is the governor and lawmakers who have set state spending and taxing priorities, which have made deep budget cuts to California's public colleges and universities.
On Thursday, expect thousands from K-12 schools, community colleges, state universities and the University of California to descend on the Capitol for an "Educate the State" rally to protest 32 percent fee increases (not gradual, predictable increases that families can prepare for) and cuts to instruction and access.
The timing is right during this 50th anniversary year of the Master Plan for Higher Education. That 1960 plan made a commitment that "all Californians should be afforded the opportunity to receive a college education." It made California a national model. And for a generation, the 1960 Master Plan delivered prosperity to the state and a higher standard of living for residents.
But a gradual, steady decline in state funding for higher education over the last 30 years has diminished that promise. The state has drifted, without any deliberate choice of policy, toward quasi-privatization – increasing student fees and private funding from individuals, corporations, foundations and the federal government.