Michaia Hernandez / Roundup
The Associated Student Organization (ASO) senate voted yes in an unofficial election held during today’s senate meeting to send representatives to participate in this year’s March in March.
March in March is an annual event where thousands of California community college students and professors gather in Sacramento to walk as one group to the west steps of the California Capitol building. Among the main issues that this year’s rally will be touching on is the proposal to increase the tuition fees of community colleges, UCs, and CSUs by $10. The gathering this year will be held March 14.
Though ASO Advisor Brad Saenz believes that the $10 increase is “imminent,” it is not necessarily immediate, so he still encourages his students to be active in letting the voices of California college students be heard. “The best thing to do is to lobby directly [to politicians], he said.
Prior to the vote, the senate held an informal debate regarding the pros and cons of the tuition increase.
One of the main reasons that the senators want to personally participate in this year’s march is because they feel that the increase is “too much.” The whole point, according to one ASO senator, of community colleges is to make higher education more accessible to people from lower-income families; the tuition increase would defeat this entire purpose. He added that if this tuition raise goes through, it is inevitable that other educational fee increases will follow.
Nima Jahanforouz, ASO treasurer, argued that compared to other states, California is lucky. “That increase might seem a lot right now, but compared to other community colleges, it’s nothing,” he said. “If you guys want more classes and teachers, [the money] has to come from somewhere.”
Newly elected ASO Vice President Febe Ruiz said, “As long as we have a chance, and the means to, every opportunity we have as a student body to have our voices heard is a great idea.”
The official elections will be held during next week’s ASO financial meeting, but Saenz is already taking applications from ASO members who want to participate in the rally.
During today’s meeting, the first in which Ruiz presided over as vice president, the senate also voted on a proposal to extend the Great Hall hours from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for students seeking an alternative means of shelter. This will be further discussed on Tuesday’s senate meeting.
Two of the highlights of today’s meeting were the election of Fernando Aquino as the new student rights committee chair, and the appointment of Gabriel Mellibosky as the new director of committees.
Other items on the agenda of today’s meeting concerned a number of events that the ASO plan for the following weeks, including Club Rush during the first three days of March and a Black History Month celebration on Feb. 28.