93 classes cut from City College; protesters at Civic Center rally against higher-ed cuts

Occupiers and protesters gather outside San Francisco City Hall for the "Day of Action," in a prelude to the March in March in Sacramento on Monday, March 5. Photo By James Fanucchi/The Guardsman

By Lance Kramer
The Guardsman

Special note: This article was produced in a joint effort between CCSF’s “The Guardsman” and SFSU’s “Xpress” newspaper. The two college news outlets are merging coverage for the “March in March” protests, March 1 in San Francisco and March 5 in Sacramento.

Over 300 protesters assembled in front of San Francisco’s City Hall and the California State Building  on March 1 to protest cuts to higher education, and many will continue marching 99 miles to Sacramento for a larger protest on Monday.

 

The assembly known as March in March kicked off at 3 p.m. at the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue then proceeded to Civic Center. The event was organized by groups such as Occupy CCSF, Associated Students of City College, the Northern California Occupy Education Coalition and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Local 2121.

“We want the wealthiest of California to stand up and pay higher taxes to help the ninety-nine percent,“ said Alisa Messer, president of the AFT at City College.

Beth LaBerge/The Guardsman  

Children and adults gathered in the Civic Center Plaza to protest funding cuts to K-12 and higher education throughout the state of CA, on Mar. 1, 2012 in San Francisco. Photo by Beth LaBerge/The Guardsman 

Beth LaBerge/The Guardsman

Students across the state have been advocating for various tax initiatives on the California ballot such as the Millionares Tax, the Oil Severance Tax and Governor Brown’s tax plan.

“We shouldn’t be taxed like Donald Trump; tax the rich to fund our education,” said Veronica Garcia, a rally supporter and member of the City College student group Students Making a Change.

San Francisco supervisor John Avalos also joined in with some encouraging words.

“I think that we can actually make history this year and win a ballot measure to pay for education,” he said – possibly referring to City College’s upcoming parcel tax, which will be on the ballot this November.

Because of budget cut-backs, 93City College classes were cut this semester, and more will be cut this summer. In response, protesters and occupiers are headed to Sacramento to ask for lower class fees, less student loans, more full-time faculty and counselors, affordable textbooks and more class availability.

The March in March will make their voices and concerns heard at the State capitol on Monday, March 5, where thousands are expected to gather in unified protest. The march will begin at 10 a.m. at Southside Park at 2115 Sixth St. in Sacramento and will meet the rest of the protesters at the steps of the capitol building.

 

Additional reporting was provided by Brian Balisi of the Xpress of San Francisco State University. March 5 this post was amended to list 93 classes cut from City College, reflecting the newest information from sources at CCSF.

Additional coverage: Tweets and live photo updates from the March 1 protest at Civic Center can be seen at http://www.goldengatexpress.org/2012/03/01/live-day-of-action-rally/ .

Video coverage can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/theguardsmanonline .