By Erik Luna In protest of high tuition, students from East Los Angeles College pitched tents in front of the campus and occupied the school two years ago. Through this protest, former ELAC student Esperanza Ortega went on to create The Hook-Up Resource Center in Montebello, which was started to help students in need and expanded to help veterans. Starting from a humble list of 20 clientele, Ortega and her…
By Joshua Avila Having seen the improvements of Occupy ELAC, Angie Rincon urges students to show support to fight the budget cuts. Rincon started Occupy ELAC through a feminist group she was involved in. At 22 years old, Rincon has made progress by catching the attention of senators and assembly men. She has spoken with Pedro Salcido and Ivan Carillo to help with the situation at Occupy ELAC. “The first week was slow,…
By Brian Villalba The Occupy East Los Angeles College movement has drawn elected officials to visit “tent city” after an early struggle. California State Senator Ed Hernandez of Senate District 24, was the first elected official to set foot in “tent city.” There was some confusion, as a scheduling conflict prevented him from his first scheduled visit. Pedro Salcido from the Field Office of Hernandez said, “The senator was excited…
By Brian Villalba Wake up people. Occupy East Los Angeles College is advocating for you, and they are doing it for free. Active and/or passive support is the only rational expression of your opinion. Occupy ELAC is acting in your own best interests so, there is no way you can rationally be against this movement and still be acting in your own best interests. For such a large population to act…
By Lindsey Maeda California’s unpromising economic state is likely to trigger another round of spending cuts, which would mean a $10 per unit increase in tuition at community colleges statewide. The Legislative Analyst’s Office reported last week that the state has not received its desired budget of $88.5 billion. Therefore, the state’s $3.7 billion revenue shortfall will trigger a total of $2 billion in cuts to several state programs, some of which include the California Community Colleges, University of California and California State Universities. These…
By Augustine Ugalde After receiving numerous complaints about an opinion piece directed toward the Occupy ELAC movement, it became clear that the protesters need to be educated about journalistic ethics. Campus News, the journalism department and I have come under heavy criticism for the opinions I expressed regarding some of the protester’s demands. The protesters took their complaints personally, by visiting CN to protest, submitting letters to the editor, posting on…
Letter to the Editor: Deepening budget cuts have prompted a group of students to mobilize and collectively express their grievances with Sacramento and local authorities on how funds are allocated. Amidst our generation’s slew of distractions, Occupy ELAC has managed to join together and create public discourse about our prospects for education. What does Occupy ELAC want? Ask any occupier and you’ll get a unique answer. One of Occupy ELAC’s…
By Megan Perry A disappointing display of student activism, resulting from a poor showing at the Occupy ELAC protest, raises the question of students’ priorities. Occupy ELAC is a movement of students who are tired of the fee hikes and who feel they deserve a free higher education. So, one would think that students would show up to support one another and demonstrate to the government that they are tired of…
By Yesenia Martinez Students that are angry with fee hikes and cutting of classes and the budget are taking action by occupying East Los Angeles College to ensure a fair and free education for all. The purpose of Occupy ELAC is to achieve the goal of getting student voices across to Governor Jerry Brown about the education crisis. They want affordable education for all students and to stop budget cuts that…