On the last day before students went on spring break the U.S. Department of Education held a summit at the San Diego Community College campus. Despite the timing, over 100 students and faculty arrived at the campus at 8 a.m. to protest the hypocrisy of the education summit.
According to government documents, the President Obama’s goal for 2020 is for the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. In reality, government policies are driving more students out of higher education. A recent announcement informed students and part time faculty that the summer session for the entire San Diego Community College District would be canceled. As a result of the cancellation, all part-time faculty will be laid off, and as many as 35,000 students will be affected.
Students and faculty from campuses throughout the district came and spoke about the real problem facing public education—capitalist greed.
Student after student gave testimony as to how the cancellation of summer session was going to affect them and how if the government really wanted to help students and veterans they should stop canceling classes and raising student fees.
Protesters then began a march around the school and took over the street on Park Blvd. in downtown San Diego. From there they marched straight to the Seville Theater where the summit was being held. Students and faculty were hypocritically excluded from participating in the education summit despite attempts to enter.
The protesters then decided to hold their own summit in the street in front of the theater. Again students denounced tax breaks for the rich and endless funding for war. SDCC student Irvin Pachuca said, “It’s hypocritical that there is enough money to beautify the campus in order to impress government officials, while at the same time the students are told that there isn’t enough money for classes, teachers or other student resources. We realize all the lies we are told and are becoming more involved in direct action against these destructive cuts to public education.”
Due to pressure, a district administrator came out to speak to the student protesters. He offered only lip service and attempted to give excuses for the budget problems that students are forced to deal with.
After shutting down the street for over an hour, students marched back to the campus to continue the protest of the summit at their lunch break. This time the police prevented the students from even stepping foot into the campus quad.
The summit organizers had ordered the lock down of the whole quad area where the summit lunch was being prepared. Students quickly reorganized and found a gap in the police lines and were able to get back onto the campus. The students then proceeded to occupy the lunch area and held a sit-in at the white linen-covered tables set with silverware. By this time the administration and police had become furious and started surrounding the students, while staff also removed all of the linens and silverware.
This caused City College President Terrence Burgess and the District Chancellor Constance Carroll to come and speak to the students in another futile attempt to make excuses for the ruling class.
After a stand off, the administration was forced to agree to meet with the students to discuss what students feel could fix the budget problem. At the top of the students’ list was taxing the rich.
The rally that took place and the spontaneous action on behalf of students and faculty show the potential strength of the working class over the capitalists and their servants. The ruling class trembles in fear when the working class comes together to demand what is rightfully theirs—free education, jobs for all and an end to imperialist wars.
