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JOE WORRELL
Prop.30 passes www.thebreezeonline.com
November 13, 2012
Volume 23. Issue 6
Students’ support across state could save their education VALEEN GONZALES
It was a nail biter, but in the end Prop. 30 was passed by 54 percent of California voters in a victory for students. “I’m thrilled,” said Michael Dinielli, Dean of Language Arts and Dean of Visual and Performing Arts. “It allows Chaffey College students to continue to pursue their educational goals and gain the necessary skills to survive in a competitive world.” Students had rallied for Prop. 30 in the days leading up to election day. There was a sense of anticipation as results began to flow in a short time after polls closed at 8 p.m. on election day. Students took to Facebook to share and react to the results in real time. At first, it looked bleak for supporters. Initial results, with less than 20 percent of precincts reporting, showed Prop. 30 losing with only 47.1 percent yes votes. Student sentiment on Facebook was split between disappointment and hope as they waited expectantly for the updates posted every 5-to-15 minutes on the California Secretary of State’s website. As more votes were counted, the gap began to close. Prop. 30 crossed the threshold into the majority yes side and didn’t look back. By midnight it had 52.2 percent yes votes. Students reactions went from discouragement to cautious optimism to celebration and appreciation over the course of the night. “I want to thank Chaffey students, faculty, staff, alumni and the board of governors for taking a position to support Prop. 30, ” ICC commissioner Jen Nieves said. This victory was for the students, but more important, this victory was won by the students. “I want to particularly thank our students,” Superintendent and President Dr. Henry Shannon said in a letter to the Chaffey College Community on Nov. 7. “We avoid $545 million in cuts in the current year and more than $3 billion over the next seven years.” There was a concerted effort by the students at large to raise awareness on campus.
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Katrina Lee Garcia, education major, stood up for Prop. 30 at the corner of Haven Avenue and College Drive on Oct. 31. She was part of the Student California Teachers Association protests in favor of the measure. Vice President Dr. Sherrie Guerrero said the passage of Prop. 30 would allow Chaffey to offer a robust summer session. “We celebrate the activism of our students and their presence at the polls,” Guerrero said.
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“I’m ecstatic that Prop. 30 passed,” political science major Jorge Garavito said. “I would like to credit that to the student body for getting out there and actually voting this time and giving the youth a more legitimate voice in the political system.” Efforts on campus ranged from awareness events in the free speech area to a week-long voter registration booth on the promenade between the library and Wargin Hall organized by Garavito and staffed completely by students. There were 222 new voters registered at the booth in the week before the California registration deadline and more than 400 new voter registrations were collected on campus since the beginning of the semester. The Future Teachers Club even held a Rally for Yes on 30 on Haven Avenue. All those efforts paid off for students on election day. “In the Field Poll’s projection of the electorate on Monday, they estimated that only 12 percent of the electorate would be 18-29 year olds,” Shannon said in his letter. “The actual exit poll from yesterday, however, suggests that 28 percent of yesterday’s electorate in California were 18 -29 year olds.” Students have every reason to celebrate this victory for their education. It was an uphill battle to convince the voters of California that students are worthy recipients of their hard-earned dollars in tax increases. The cost to taxpayers will be a one-quarter percent sales tax increase for all Californians and an income tax increase for individuals earning more than $250,000 per year and households earning more than $500,000 per year. “I am pleased with the voters’ choice to reinvest in human capital and improve our public education system,” ASCC President Carlos Huizar said. “Proposition 30 is special not just because it will bring about a brighter California and encourage innovation, but also because it’s actually the first tax initiative to be passed within the past two decades.” Shannon is hosting a Budget Forum on Nov. 14 at 12:30 p.m. in CAA-218 to discuss what the passage of Prop. 30 means for Chaffey College.
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