All posts by California College Democrats

education

California Young Democrats ask: What happened to the Master Plan?

(Like all too many things in California, higher education has been decimated by thousands of cuts. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

California Young Democrats ask: What happened to the Master Plan?

Young Democrats mobilize across the State to demand Governor Schwarzenegger halt education cuts

Hundreds of California Young Democrats are up in arms today and will be flooding Governor Schwarzenegger’s phone lines today and on Friday to protest his recent proposals to slash remaining education funding.

“Right when our state needs to make smart decisions to lift us out of this budget crisis, the Governor’s decided that higher education-one of our state’s most lucrative long-term investments-ought to be sacrificed,” said Rocky Fernandez, President of the California Young Democrats. “Anybody who knows anything about our state could tell you that every dollar invested in education leads to three dollars in economic output. Governor Schwarzenegger is throwing away the tractor in favor of the shovel.”

Governor Schwarzenegger’s recent proposals to cut $87.5 million out of higher education coupled with a shortening of the academic year show a total disregard for the promise of California’s Master Plan for Higher Education. Instead of investing in California’s youth, students will start their semesters with nothing but enrollment and budget cuts.

“Students will not roll over and let the California Dream of higher education fade away, ” said Charlie Carnow, Political Director of the California College Democrats. “We call on the Governor to join us in fighting for our state’s future”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governator Says “Hasta La Vista , College Jobs”

(I edited for space. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

Hundreds of California College Democrats will start phoning Governor Schwarzenegger’s office today and tomorrow to protest his executive order potentially slashing almost 5,000 UC workers to minimum wage. Workers including everyone from administrative assistants to agricultural research advisors would be affected by the executive order.

“The Governor has again showed that he is out of touch with real Californians.  Balancing the budget on the backs of hard-working public servants is irresponsible and outrageous.” Says Nick Warshaw, Claremont College student and President of the California College Democrats. “Arnold’s decision reveals his disregard for hard working students.  After being laid off from their state jobs many students will find it extremely difficult to pay their ever rising tuition”  

Californians were originally told that California’s higher education system would be safe from the grasp of Executive Order S-09-08 but the UC Office of the President (UCOP) recently discovered that approximately 5,000 UC employees are either partially or wholly paid for by the state and could potentially be affected.

UCOP has expressed concerned about the futures of workers, many of them college students trying to scrape by who would be affected but are requesting UC outsiders to avoid “unnecessarily alarming” their employees- robbing workers of the ability to prepare themselves for months of financial hardship.

“Students paying their way through college have always found themselves barely scraping by; the added headache of an unstable paycheck will set the tone for a disastrous year both financially and academically” said Christine Smith, UC Berkeley student and California College Vice President.

Executive Order S-09-08 has the potential to be more devastating at the California State University and Community College levels where students are more likely to be working and studying at the same time,  and are less likely to be receiving merit-based financial aid.

The California College Democrats is the official student arm of the California Democratic Party, comprised of progressive students.