4 minute read
Budget cuts discussed at townhall meeting
State representatives address issues with reduced classes and community colleges
Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup
Faculty and students gathered for a town hall meeting with California state representatives with concerns over future budget cuts Thursday at the Campus Center. The meeting was called “Budget My Education,” and was hosted by Students Organizing for Success (SOS) with scheduled speakers State Senator Fran Pavley and Assemblywoman Julie Brownley.
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. “Community college students should organize and fight any way they can (in these tough times).”
With almost all the seats available 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 that 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 down-sizing of classes might cause her to take longer to get the classes needed to transfer.
“It sucks,” said Gorelik “Ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted to go to UCLA (and) now because of cuts I may not be able too.”
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,” said Brown.
“Times are very, very grim, particularly for education,” said Assemblywoman Brownley 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,” she said.
Brownley explained some of the causes for the education cuts include Gov. Schwarzenegger’s reduction of the vehicle license fee, causing a loss of over $16 billion in state revenue. Also mentioned were California’s Three Strikes law, causing the state to spend more on prisons and less on higher education and habitual spending by legislators with “theoretical credit cards.”
Brownley said that she couldn’t guarantee that there wouldn’t be any future cuts, but that she would “fight it every step of the way.”
When asked a question about the agriculture department, Julie Brownley said that she did not know the situation and deferred to Dr. Joy McCaslin, interim president of Pierce College.
McCaslin proceeded to discuss the benefits of the new Center for the Sciences building and was bombarded by yelling from students from the agriculture department, who were displeased about their classes being relocated away from the farm. SOS take place on Thursdays at 2:10 p.m. in English 1202.
