Budget cuts nation-wide have thrown the state of education into crisis. Schools have been stripped of classes, instructors and student resources. There are skyrocketing tuition costs accompanied by an influx of students attempting to enroll in overflowing class rooms. With the unemployment crisis, many students are finding no job opportunities upon graduation. They are settling for any job they can take before they accrue interest on their loans, yet many still default.  Student loan debt has even surpassed credit card debt and is now a $1 trillion crisis. The crisis in education is a symptom of a corporate coup d’Etat. For democracy to survive education must thrive.

Our education system has become a means to profit off of students who are exploited and forced into indentured servitude. Our government looks out for the interests of corporatism rather than those of the American people. This destroys the motivations of a society to see any sort of achievement in their contributions. They become enslaved to maintaining the collapsing economy, which rests on our backs, while the one percent lounges atop holding the majority of wealth.

Our futures cannot stagnantly wait for a figure promising “change” or for bills to pass while dangling in a court of endless appeals held up by corporate lobbyists and pocketed congressmen. To protect our futures we must begin taking care of our communities ourselves.

Occupy El Camino College has brought together students, teachers and concerned community members to stand up against injustice. Hundreds of students showed up at the November 2011 board meeting to oppose cuts that will limit student access to counselors and hinder transfers. The looming threat of winter session led to the organization of a rally, led by