Last Thursday’s statewide protest against state budget cuts was meant to bring awareness to the problems facing college students.
California universities are facing a 32 percent increase in tuition, which will affect EC students’ plans to transfer.
Students not only protested against this increase in the UC system, but against proposed increases of community college fees as well as further budget cuts.
According to the EC Web site, a total of $842,000 has been cut from the college’s general budget this year alone.
Students at EC protested the current and impending changes to the college’s budget by walking out of classes at 9:30 a.m. and spending the day protesting near the Student Activities Center, drawing the attention of students attending Club Rush, before joining the larger movement taking place at Pershing Square in downtown L.A.
The protest was meant to garner attention to the issues facing students, and while it did, the protest was hardly productive. What does walking out of class and further risking one’s education achieve, beyond hurting one’s chances to learn?
For three hours, students marched about campus, waving signs and blaming the budget deficits on the government, vocalizing their frustrations and only succeeded in missing out on a day’s worth of classes, further disrupting their own education.
Students need to be more proactive in protesting. Sign waving and giving speeches isn’t going to accomplish anything.
What will help is taking the time to sit down and write a letter to the local state representative or even the governor.
Have you ever wondered why prisons receive more of the funding they ask for than schools do? It’s because they’re lobbying for those funds. Instead of protesting, the prison lobbyists are taking the time and energy to sit down and write, asking for more funds, and because of their persistence, they get those funds.
Voting can also be another factor by which students can have their opinions heard.
By voting in all elections, not just major ones, students will have an advanced notice on proposed budget cuts and be able to at least voice their ideas on the matter where it will be noted.
If enough students of legal voting age actually took the time to vote, it might make all the difference as far as giving the government the right to make cuts.
To truly make a difference, one can write Senator Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) at the State Capitol at State Capitol, Room 5064, Sacramento, CA, 94248.
Students should take the opportunity to write and make sure their voices are heard instead of protesting, or just wishing things would change. One letter could make all the difference.
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