Capitol bombarded by March in March

Officers of the Associated Students of Citrus College were among the thousands of students, teachers, and concerned residents who participated in an annual marching protest in the state's capital on Monday, March 22.

The annual protest, called the March in March, was organized by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) and was attended by students from across the state who are enrolled at community colleges and California State University campuses.

The reason behind the protest was "skyrocketing fees, fewer class offerings, and devastating cuts to crucial student services are creating insurmountable barriers to student success," according to SSCCC's Web site.

"We came because we wanted Citrus to be represented at the march because education is important to us," said ASCC president Karlyn Bradley. He also said the march will put faces and numbers to the students of California who are being affected by budget cuts and fee hikes. "It will make it tangible for them," he said.

According to event organizers, close to 15,000 protesters began their march at Raley Field on the west side of the Sacramento River, marched across Tower Bridge and down Capitol Mall to the north steps of the Capitol building.

Upon reaching the Capitol, several speakers addressed the rowdy crowd about the issues were being protested.

Among the speakers was former ASCC president, and current Senator-at-large for the SSCCC, Stefano Saltalamacchia, whose specific topic was the hardships that are faced by student athletes amidst the cuts and fee hikes. Saltalamacchia plays water polo and swims for Citrus.

"Some students like myself hope that athletics will be our ticket into a four-year institution," Saltalamacchia said in his speech. "Will we achieve this in two years when it's difficult to get your core classes needed for transfer because they are being filled faster than ‘Twilight' books are flying off shelves?"

California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott was also among the speakers. "Education is not a cost, it's an investment," Scott said. "It is California's best investment."

Scott also quoted a recent study from UC Berkeley, which he said showed that for every dollar California spends on higher education, it gets back $3 in taxes.

A handful of state elected officials also spoke. They included Assemblymen Marty Block (D-78th), Warren Furutani (D-55th) and Paul Fong (D-22nd) who each presented a different piece of legislation that they believe will fix the funding problem for higher education.

Block spoke about AB 656 that he said would tax oil companies $2 billion, which would be put toward higher education.

Furutani presented the Golden State Higher Education Act, which is an effort to get an initiative on a state ballot that Californian's can vote on to fix education.

Fong talked about AB 1761, which will allow Cal Grant B students to use their funds to pay for tuition instead of just books and supplies.

After the speakers concluded, ASCC officers met with legislators and their representatives to further discuss their reasons for protesting. The officials included Assemblymen Anthony Portantino (D-44th), Anthony Adams (R-59th) and Edward Hernadez (D-57th), and Senators Bob Huff (R-29th) and Gloria Romero (D-24th).

About a dozen ASCC representatives, along with a Citrus student involved in the Latino Leadership Network, were in attendance at the protest. According to ASCC adviser Adrienne Thompson, they were able to use some ASCC travel funds to fly to Sacramento for the protest that totaled around $2,500.

Thompson said the ASCC travel budget is being spent into the red, but that the march was too big to miss, especially with a good number of new representatives who had not experienced it.

"I think it's highly effective because it creates a face, it creates a presence, especially as the legislators are going into budget season," Thompson said. "It's a very strong visual reminder of the number of students [affected]."

Travel for ASCC representatives and other Citrus students to attend future events, such as next year's March in March, would be funded by revenue received from passage of the student rep fee, which was voted on by the Citrus student body on March 29 and 30.