More than 30 students rallied in front of Hyman Hall Tuesday in the Civic Engagement Club’s speak-out against budget cuts. Despite the cold weather, students and a number of faculty members filled the benches and concrete seats. Some spoke of their own experiences and what they want done about the lopsided educational system. Freshman Tanya Abarado told how she and a friend tried to sign up for Tagalog and Italian classes this fall, but were disappointed to find out that the classes were cancelled. Abarado tried to sign up for other classes, but they were also full. As a result, she is a part-time student. “I am the kind of student who wants to [graduate from Ohlone] in two years but it’s hard with all the budget cuts,” said Abarado. Another victim of class cuts is Anisa Dave, who asked a rhetorical question: “Without education how would we lead this country?” He also said, “Without education we will not go further.” Dave wanted to transfer this year, but was not able to since the classes he needed to sign up for were full. He said, “We grew up learning that education is a will but now they are saying it’s a won’t!” Many students said they are frustrated with the tuition increase at the California State University and University of California systems. Thomas Briseno said, “I can barely afford books and tuition.” Briseno, who wants to transfer to UC Berkeley, said how disappointed he is with the UC tuition fee hikes, which have preventing him from transferring. History Professor and Adviser of the Civic Engagement Club Heather McCarty encouraged the students to write legislators to let them know how important education is. McCarty gave March in March as an example of how appealing to the state government works. She said that earlier this year there were plenty of planned cuts that did not happen because of the March in March, where they sat down with the legislators and told them what they wanted. She ended her speech by saying that community college is the elevator that gets students to the middle class, but with the budget cuts it cannot serve its purpose.
By Anna Biaritz Roldan
Staff writer
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