Statewide protests will begin today as students, teachers and other faculty rally and strike against budget cuts.
This morning, groups of students plan to walk from class to class, asking students and instructors to leave their classrooms and join them on the North Library Lawn, Ali Ahmadpour, art professor, said.
“We came to the conclusion that the state of California does not understand the significance of education in regards to the future of the state and the future of the nation,” Ahmadpour said.
During the rally at EC, Ahmadpour and Jon Clemmons, a member of the Iraq Veterans Against War, will inform students and faculty about the budget crisis, how it affects them and why they should rally, Lucy Guanua, 23, journalism major, said.
“What we noticed is that the disabilities program and programs for the needy have been cut the most, and those are some of the most important programs we have,” Guanua said.
After the rally, the plan is to leave EC around 1 p.m. and travel to Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles, where they will rally and protest, walk to the governor’s office, walk back and rally and protest some more.
This event will include the entire L.A. coalition of a group of mainly students, teachers, faculty and parents from the L.A. area, Ahmadpour said.
There are coalitions from many colleges such as the California State University of Northridge, the University of California Irvine, San Diego State University and the University of Caifornia, Los Angeles.
In fact, UCLA has its own coalition at school called, “UCLA Fights Back,” Ahmadpour said.
“This coalition was created because of the statewide budget cuts,” Ahmadpour said.
Also part of this rally is the United Teachers of Los Angeles, a teacher’s union that is working along side EC for this fight organzing this protest.
Though Mari Womack, a part-time instructor, believes in the cause, she will not be joining the protest, Womack said.
“I only get paid for the time that I’m in the classroom, and (walking out on March 4) would create a financial hardship for me,” Womack said.