Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup
Faculty and students gathered for a Town Hall meeting with California state representatives to voice concerns over future budget cuts yesterday at the Campus Center.
The meeting was called “Budget My Education” and was hosted by Students Organizing for Success (S.O.S.), with scheduled speakers including State Senator Fran Pavley and Assemblymember Julie Brownley.
With almost all the seats taken, faculty and students had to stand to hear from the two speakers. The sentiments of the crowd varied with their reasoning, but almost all were in agreement they were unhappy.
Many students in attendance were there because of concern for classes.
“I never thought college would be the thing that would be hindering me from getting an education,” said Pierce student Mariya Gorelik, noting how the downsizing of classes might cause her to take longer to get the classes needed to transfer.
“It sucks,” Gorelik said. “Ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted to go to UCLA. Now because of cuts I may not be able to.”
Others in attendance were displeased with the notion of having two representatives from the same political party speaking on the same panel. Economics professor Pamela Brown brought a sign stating “Pierce students and staff are not ‘all’ Democrats.”
“A lot of people pay for this school, not just Dems,” Brown said.
Pavley was not able to attend the meeting; instead, Los Angeles District Director Rebekah Rodriguez-Lynn was in attendance.
“Community colleges are California’s greatest treasures,” she said.
Rodriguez-Lynn advised students to handle tough times together.
“Community college students should organize and fight any way they can”
“Times are very, very grim, particularly for education,” Brownley said as she took the stage, noting that California has made the deepest cuts ever during this economic crisis. “Community colleges were probably hit the hardest.”
Brownley explained some of the causes for the education cuts:
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s reduction of the vehicle license fee, causing a loss of more than $16 billion in state revenue.
California’s Three Strikes law causing the state to spend more on prisons and less on higher education.
Habitual spending by legislators with “theoretical credit cards.”
After a student asked what she would do to help the schools, Brownley said she couldn’t guarantee there would be no more future cuts, but that she would “fight it every step of the way.”
When asked a question about the agricultural department, Julie Brownley said she did not know the situation and deferred to Dr. Joy McCaslin.
McCaslin proceeded to discuss the benefits of the new Center for the Sciences building and was bombarded by yelling from students from the agricultural department, who were displeased about their classes being relocated away from the farm.
After the brief question-and-answer segment left most students still confused about the future of their classes, they were encouraged to attend S.O.S. meetings which take place Thursdays at 2:10 p.m. in English Room 1202.
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