By Cristina Galvan
Occupy ELAC will allow students to come together to protest budget cuts and show that we care about our education.
We are all being affected by budget cuts that seem to get worse by the year. Tuition is currently at $36 a unit and is expected to rise. Students are capable of becoming future teachers, lawyers, police officers and scientists and we are being left behind to struggle in earning an education. Politicians, parents and teachers place a high emphasis on a higher-education, but it is becoming difficult to get one.
Being enrolled at school, it is not hard to see how budget cuts affect students and the school. When the semester started, how many students were forced to stand in the back of class and sit on the floor or be part of a raffle?
Budget cuts make it harder for students to get classes they need and as a result, many students have to delay their plans to get their Associate’s Degree or transfer out to a university. Budget cuts are affecting students directly. We are paying more for classes and getting less. We are paying $10 per unit more than the previous semester and we do not really see where that money is going. Instead we see crowded classrooms and cuts to student services.
Occupy ELAC is a movement for students, started by students. It is the best opportunity for students to get their voices heard, create change and bring awareness to the issue without having to travel far.
While on break between classes or once class is over, students could head over to the front of the steps where the ELAC letters are located and be a part of the movement. Students could also contribute by camping out, making signs and spreading the word to their friends and classmates. There are near 28,000 students at ELAC. If a few hundred students show up to Occupy ELAC, a difference could be made. People will see that students truly care about their education.
It is better to try to do something about the issue and get our voices heard than to just sit around and wait for something to happen or wait for someone else to create change for us. Occupy ELAC gives students the opportunity to step out and let others know what the future generation needs. Occupy ELAC will start at the free speech area near the husky statue, by the southwest gate to the stadium.
A small march will take place around the school on Monday and at 2 p.m. the movement will start in the front steps of the school. We are all in school for the same reason and this movement will allow students to unite and come together to protest for the same issue.
Occupy ELAC is a student movement so it will be up to students to keep the movement alive and strong. Being united, students could bring awareness and fight for education and their future.