SANTA BARBARA – Approximately 30 people protested at Santa Barbara City College against the proposed California higher education budget cuts that would cause future tuition increases.
“We do have a voice and we need to make it heard in regards to budget cuts and how it affects education,” said Carina Vega, the Student Senate for California Community Colleges Region 6 representative and organizer of the Santa Barbara protest. “We need to let the California government know.”
Around half of the participants traveled all the way from College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.
“We have a huge rally going on in Sacramento, so we wanted to disperse it everywhere,” said Jaime Meriwether, College of the Canyons associate student government president. “Higher education is very important and higher education is the gateway into the career world. If we raise tuition, we’re essentially hurting our economy.”
Meriwether and Measure V Bond representative Emily Allen spoke of how cutting funding for education will only affect the country on a far worse scale in the long run.
“If we don’t pass Measure V, we will be forced to draw from the general fund,” Allen said.
Allen noted that educational facilities will decline in quality, and the amount of classes available will decrease even as the number of students in each class will increase.
“Measure V is about making sure students today have access … to what they need,” Allen said.
SBCC Student Government President Tom Fitzgerald introduced some facts about the proposed budget cuts and how they will affect education, such as the $43.5 million cut. According to Fitzgerald, more than 80,000 community college students may not be able attend college after the tuition increases.
“Our future is being challenged,” Fitzgerald said, “and we are here to say we are not OK with that.”
The protestors, after gathering on campus, walked through Santa Barbara on State Street, making their way to Santa Barbara City Hall.
Andrew Bache, a sophomore environmental studies major, said that he felt the tuition increases had a lot to do with the future of America.
“It’s cheaper to fund education than it is to lock people in prison,” Bache said.
Some SBCC students were disappointed in the local student turnout.
“There’s not enough awareness on campus,” said Taylor Hodge, a junior English major. Another student said she saw only one poster on campus advertising the rally.
“It’s not even a matter of being apathetic,” said Ann Fryslie, SBCC director of student life. “They don’t have the time, but until things take effect and they feel it personally, it doesn’t register.”
“We are a part of history in the making,” Vega said after getting a call that 2,500 people protested in Sacramento. “What do we need to do now? Vote.”
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