Students to march against state cuts
Thousands expected to walk on Capitol
John Hornberg
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: News
Four years ago, community college students from across the state marched down the Capitol Mall in Sacramento in protest of fee increases.
Now, students from all three state public higher education systems - the California State University, the University of California and California Community Colleges - will be marching the same route Monday in protest of the governor's proposal to cut $1 billion from all three systems.
About 7,000 to 10,000 students are expected to gather for the march, said Joel Francis, the director of external affairs for the California State Student Association.
Associated Students will be offering buses to students interested in attending. Buses will be leaving for Sacramento at 6 a.m. on Monday, and sign-ups on the organization's Web site are currently under way to reserve space.
Francis said the issue of budget cuts presents a first in CSU relations.
"This is the first time I've ever seen the faculty, employees' union, the chancellor and the students," he said. "Top to bottom, everyone's united."
The idea for the march, however, originated at SJSU, Francis said.
A march on the Capitol was part of the campaign platform last year for current A.S. President Benjamin Henderson, who said he then proposed the idea for the march a year ago to the state student association.
"I wanted to let students know that when there's cuts, they can stand up," he said.
Although the effort was originally proposed last year, it came together recently, said Miles Nevin, the director of university affairs for the state student association.
"This specific march has been an effort that has taken four months and is in conjunction with the regular student lobbying summit," he said.
This is the first year the lobbying summit has included a march, Nevin said.
Francis said he doesn't expect to see immediate change to the state budget until May, when the governor plans to issue a revision of the budget. He said he is sure, though, that the march will have an impact on the process.
Now, students from all three state public higher education systems - the California State University, the University of California and California Community Colleges - will be marching the same route Monday in protest of the governor's proposal to cut $1 billion from all three systems.
About 7,000 to 10,000 students are expected to gather for the march, said Joel Francis, the director of external affairs for the California State Student Association.
Associated Students will be offering buses to students interested in attending. Buses will be leaving for Sacramento at 6 a.m. on Monday, and sign-ups on the organization's Web site are currently under way to reserve space.
Francis said the issue of budget cuts presents a first in CSU relations.
"This is the first time I've ever seen the faculty, employees' union, the chancellor and the students," he said. "Top to bottom, everyone's united."
The idea for the march, however, originated at SJSU, Francis said.
A march on the Capitol was part of the campaign platform last year for current A.S. President Benjamin Henderson, who said he then proposed the idea for the march a year ago to the state student association.
"I wanted to let students know that when there's cuts, they can stand up," he said.
Although the effort was originally proposed last year, it came together recently, said Miles Nevin, the director of university affairs for the state student association.
"This specific march has been an effort that has taken four months and is in conjunction with the regular student lobbying summit," he said.
This is the first year the lobbying summit has included a march, Nevin said.
Francis said he doesn't expect to see immediate change to the state budget until May, when the governor plans to issue a revision of the budget. He said he is sure, though, that the march will have an impact on the process.
Be the first to comment on this story