In the second campus protest against fee hikes this year, UCSD students, faculty and community members rallied in opposition to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed cuts to higher education on April 15. The rally, organized by the UCSD Coalition to Stop the Cuts, began at noon on Library Walk, followed by a march to the Office of the Registrar.
According to Jessica Lopez, organizer with the statewide Stop the Cuts network, approximately 100 people attended the hour-long rally.
The protest was part of a statewide week of action at the UC, CSU and community college systems, highlighting the consequences of the proposed cuts.
Student speakers from different levels of education and student government organizations addressed issues surrounding the budget proposals.
“Concerned students from across the state are staging a united front to voice their concern and write out their frustrations with what has been determined in Sacramento,” graduate student speaker Lorena Marquez said. “The voice of students has not been taken into account.”
The rally was held on National Tax Day to symbolize the tax that will be imposed on students, organizers and attendees said.
“This is just going to make people not be able to pursue an education,” lecturer Beatrice Pita said. “[The budget proposal] is like putting a tax on education.”
Speakers emphasized that one of the main objectives of the rally was to promote a statewide initiation of action against the proposed cuts to higher education. On April 26, students across the state will present five demands and ask to speak with the representatives of their local area, specifically in San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area.
Students held a statewide meeting that outlined a common set of demands on April 3, Lopez said. The five demands established were: no cuts to outreach and retention programs, no cuts to financial aid, no fee increases, no enrollment caps, and no worker firings or outsourcing of labor.
Participating San Diego campuses in the April 26 demonstration will include UCSD, San Diego State University, Mesa College, Southwestern University, San Diego City College, Miramar College and California State University San Marcos, organizer Renee Maas said.
UCSD Coalition to Stop the Cuts includes members of the A.S. Council, the Graduate Student Association, the California Student Public Interest Research Group, the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, Students for Economic Justice, the University Council–American Federation of Teachers, the International Socialist Organization, Associated Student Employees-United Auto Workers Local 2865 and others.
Joshua Wilson of Students for Economic Justice stressed that students will no longer be able to afford higher education in California, even at public institutions.
“All students must have access,” Wilson said. “We need to stand up to the legislation and tell them to reject Gov. Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal.”
Black Student Union student speaker Shereena Turner claimed that money was not being invested in students. In addition to a 10-percent fee increase for undergraduates, financial aid would also decrease by 13 percent under the governor’s plan, she said.
“The government needs to reassess its priorities,” Turner said. “Education is a right [and it] is being more privatized.”
Several attendees and speakers at the rally conveyed how they would be personally affected by the governor’s proposed budget cuts. Graduate student Benjamin Balthaser, a member of UCSD Coalition to Stop the Cuts, said that California universities are increasing their reliance on non-tenure instructors and that consequently, his own job prospects will be affected.
As a teaching assistant, Balthaser discussed how the proposed budget cuts have affected his students.
“I’m watching my students who cannot do their homework or finish assignments because they have to work full-time to support themselves,” Balthaser said.
Several high school students discussed how they would be negatively affected by the elimination of all K-12 outreach programs.
Bonita Vista High School student speaker Leezel Ramos, a daughter of immigrant parents new to the California education system, expressed that without outreach programs, she would know very little about the higher education system or financial aid options.
“The budget cuts are really going to affect my family,” Ramos said. “It’s going to be hard for me to go to college.”
UCSD drumming group Tribe Agape also attended and performed at the rally.