Students march for education Los Angeles residents take to the streets in support of Assembly Bill 19

SAMANTHA BRAVO Editor-in-Chief @sammybravo93

Angelenos, including Pierce students, marched down Hill Street in Downtown Los Angeles in support of Assembly Bill 19, which would make college education free for one year.

The bill is sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk awaiting his approval or veto.

The march began at Pershing Square and ended at City Hall, where organizers and participants made their speeches about the future of affordable and accessible higher education.

In 2015, President Barack Obama proposed two years of tuition-free community college for eligible students. AB-19 creates the California Community College (CCC) Promise Program to provide tuition-free education at a CCC for one academic year to all students.

Students marched down the street with posters, chanting, “Sign the bill,” and “Education is our right.”

Associated Student Organization President Efren Lopez attended the march because he believes education should be available for everyone.

“I’m at the march because I think one of the fundamentals of upward mobility is higher education,” Lopez said. “The bill that they’re advocating here is just sitting on the governor's desk, ready to sign.”

Lopez said it’s important for the government to provide education to students who can’t afford it.

“Some people say it could be a human right or a great necessity, especially in today’s society,” Lopez said. “It’s very important for people who can’t afford it or don’t know how to go about it, that it’s an option for them to go and move up in the world and get the proper education.”

Chair of the Community Welfare Committee Gisela Tarifa attended the march to support free education for herself and for students in the future.

“If it wasn’t for Pierce College, I wouldn’t have a higher education right now,” Tarifa said. “I probably would’ve taken a break from high school and probably start working and never get that opportunity to have a higher education.”

Tarifa wants her siblings, and anyone, to have access to education in the future and not have to worry about affording college.

“I don’t want my little brother or my cousins, anyone that’s going to take that next step out