Stephanie England is an English senior and Mustang Daily political columnist.

I’ve heard that Cal Poly students are apathetic, that we don’t care about the budget crisis as much as other campuses like Berkeley, which had a riot over the issue last weekend. I don’t believe that we’re apathetic or that we’re less passionate about the issue. But when I thought about the prospect of protesting in this statewide protest over the budget crisis, I couldn’t help but ask myself whether protesting would change anything. The budget is set in stone, the cuts are being accounted for and the politicians who voted are still in office. What can protesting change?

When I think of the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement, I see that protesting does change society. And the way that King’s protests changed America is similar to the way that I see today’s protest, at 10:30 a.m. on Dexter Lawn and this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on Marsh St., changing California.

King changed hearts and minds in America through his protests and activism and if our politicians are going to vote on budgets differently in the future, people’s hearts and minds must change regarding education first. That starts with us — the students, raising awareness about the fact that education is a right, not a privilege.

Education is a right, because educated citizens are absolutely essential to a functioning representative democracy. Without public education as a right, America could not applaud itself as the land of opportunity. Public education exists in order to educate the maximum number of students while maintaining the concept that a quality education should be affordable. I believe that the CSU and the Cal Poly administration are doing everything they can to accomplish these objectives, despite the severe cuts to education.

If you don’t believe that you have been directly affected by the fee increases and furloughs, I will supply some statistics to inspire you to come out today at 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. A promising candidate for State Senate, Michael Rubio, states on his campaign Web site that “California spends more incarcerating 167,000 adults than it does to educate 226,000 students in its 10-campus University of California system.” According to the Mustang Daily, Eric Benjamin, statewide coordinator of the budget protests today, said that every year the state spends $47,000 per inmate and $7,500 per student in California.

I hope to see those who have suggested that the liberal view on funding social programs rewards the irresponsible and punishes the fiscally responsible out on Dexter protesting today. I can’t think of a better example of this in society than the state’s priority of the prison system over higher education.

If you need another reason to protest, do it for your professors, who, I think, suffer the most as a result of this budget crisis. They are bearing the burden in furloughs and pay cuts. I think we students understand that the cost of education is worth the benefits we will reap in the future, but our professors are sacrificing their jobs and salaries.

The real issue with the higher education system is the way that the state collects and portions its revenue. The state can’t fully fund education without raising taxes. I find it interesting that Gov. Schwarzenegger has repeatedly said that he has to make the tough decisions on the budget, when he has refused to break with the Republicans to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy in California.

That’s the truly tough decision. He hasn’t lost anything by cutting social programs and funding for public education for children and adults. Voter opinion on raising taxes in California seems to be changing, however. The Public Policy Institute of California published in a report in January stating that two-thirds of Californians would pay higher taxes to avoid cuts to K-12 education, and 70 percent support cutting funding to prisons and corrections. It’s a start.

Please come out to protest today. If you can’t make it at 10:30 a.m. on Dexter, come downtown at 3:30 p.m. on Marsh St. and join the statewide protest. The future of public education depends upon our involvement.

Erik Fernandez, left, Vanessa Soto and Jose Montenegro, right, led a student teach-in to inform students and faculty members about the impacts of budget cuts on education. Photo by Patrick Leiva-Mustang Daily

Three Cal Poly students led a teach-in Friday to draw attention to budget cuts that they say are hindering education for students.

Architectural engineering junior Erik Fernandez, social science sophomore Jose Montenegro and ethnic studies junior Vanessa Soto discussed education concerns with a group of about 35 students and faculty members surrounding furloughs, budget cuts and privatization.

The three students decided over winter break that they wanted to do something and fight the budget cuts. Their first step involved creating a Facebook group to help inform the public called “Cal Poly, Battle the Budget Cuts!”

They said the premise of the presentation was to unify students, faculty and union workers at Cal Poly around a common goal: Put an end to the budget cuts on higher education and eliminate the transparency which exists between the administration and students.

Soto said they wanted to get people informed since many in the Cal Poly community did not know much regarding the impacts of the cuts. But their struggle to end the cuts in higher education would take many more voices other than their own, she said.

“We want to see as many people uniting together behind a common goal,” Montenegro said. “It’s outrageous to no end that we have to take out more money to fund our education.”

Some things they wanted to address were how Cal Poly plans on cutting enrollment. In a speech earlier this month at an Associated Students Inc. Board of Directors meeting, Provost Richard Koob said nearly 2,000 students will be cut in the upcoming year, bringing enrollment to 15,702 students. Also, the students were concerned about the fee increases that are making education harder for people to obtain. Finally, the group wanted students to understand the impact furloughs have on education and the financial impact on faculty as well.

They said one of the major hopes in holding the discussion was to allow a group of people to come together and stand behind a course of action. Those in attendance were able to voice their own opinions regarding the group’s direction.

The students plan on holding another teach-in within the next two weeks. Following the next meeting, the students want to form committees to organize an event for Mar. 4, which has been delegated as the Statewide Day of Action. The day of action is a call for everyone involved in public education to stand up against the cuts to education. The students hope that the event will portray the displeasure of the students and faculty at Cal Poly in order to provoke change within the system.

“We are going to push for the maximum and see what we can get changed,” Montenegro said.

The students also said they realize that their efforts will need to continue following the day of action.

Fernandez said he wants to see a shift in priorities toward emphasizing a quality education over funding for prisons.

The efforts from recent demonstrations around the state seem to be paying dividends as the governor proposed to place more money into funding higher education earlier this month. In a recent New York Times article, Susan Kennedy, chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, said the tipping point for choosing to fund higher education over the prison system was the protests on the University of California campuses.

Students who attended the teach-in said they thought it was beneficial. Josef Sanchez, an aerospace engineering graduate student, said he was concerned about how access to higher education was becoming more difficult.

“I really wanted to see what other people thought and if they were as concerned as I am regarding education,” Sanchez said.

Throughout the past couple months, neither of the three individuals thought solely about their own benefits from making higher education more affordable or through abolishing the cuts. Fernandez said their own individual experiences with education restriction, through fewer classes and furloughs, are compelling enough.

“We never thought about us,” Fernandez said. “Instead, we thought about what we could do to gain back our education.”

Stock photo

Student government plans to get answers from local and state leaders about the budget effects on higher education. This is a response to Associated Students Inc.’s budget crisis survey where class availability topped the list of concerns important to students.

ASI released the results from the “Dollar Dilemmas,” a series of events held to get student feedback on budget issues on their Web site, and plan to have answers to all the questions posted over the next two weeks. More than 300 students submitted questions or concerns about fewer classes being offered, furloughs and facility projects at booths on Dexter Lawn, the University Union and Robert E. Kennedy Library. ASI President Kelly Griggs said they are working on getting accurate answers for students.

“We saw a lot of speculation and a lack of information on issues like the Rec Center project and class availability,” Griggs said. Chief of Staff Jessica Patton and Secretary of Legislative Affairs Alicia Carney said they have already started to find some answers to the top questions by interviewing campus administrators.

Carney said Provost Koob told them that even with 92 classes cut fall quarter, students are taking more units and that the administration is working to make sure students graduate on time. The outcome of the meeting will be part of the ASI Web site dedicated to informing students. Griggs said they wanted to find a way to use the Web site to provide better communication to students on these issues.

ASI’s student government Web site will be a place to find current information and answers, updates on budget related news and a connection to the leaders in Sacramento, Patton said. The top issues for students are limited class availability, paying more for fewer classes and having those classes cut short by furloughs. There will eventually be a response to all student questions and concerns submitted.

“This will give students a heads up on issues important to them,” Patton said.

The Web site now has the full list of the questions and concerns raised by students at “Dollar Dilemmas.” Student representatives also took a copy to the California State Student Association (CSSA) to share in the statewide effort to lobby for education funds.

ASI is working with CSSA to find answers from state administrators in order to keep students involved in the process so that the project is focused on issues important to them, and currently, it’s the budget, Griggs said.

“We’re all dealing with the economy, and we have a responsibility to students to find accurate information,” she said.

Assembly Bill 656 is a 9.9 percent oil and gas severance tax that would go directly to California’s higher education system. On one side of the issue are educators, such as the California Faculty Association (CFA), who are looking to balance or at least supplement the $564 million deficit the system is facing. On the other are oil and business-oriented organizations, such as the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) and Cal-Tax, who fight for fair taxes and business freedom.

As I interviewed people on both sides of the bill, it became clear that the issue has much more depth than I expected.

One of the first things that David Kline, communications director for Cal-Tax, said was that it is very misleading to say that there is no oil tax in California. It is true that there is no severance tax, but there are several other taxes in place. Property tax and sales tax on all oil-producing tools are already in place and, according to Kline, keep California competitive with other states in terms of oil taxation. Kline also pointed out that a potential 10,000 Californian jobs would be lost.

One of the students I interviewed, Taylor Lobdell, a social sciences junior, pointed out something that I hadn’t discussed with anyone or thought of yet.

“I’m for anything that’s going to help education, especially if it’s taxing something that I see as the old way of getting energy,” he said. “More people would be getting jobs in the new industries. Oil is outdated.”

Lobdell said he thinks it is a good thing when people are forced to change in a less-than-ideal situation. He noted people’s gas-buying habits when it comes to oil prices across the country.

“I think it forces people to find other sources of energy,” Lobdell said.

But can that really be used as a reason for imposing the tax? Probably not. Forcing people out of business would probably ruffle feathers of free-market advocates. If it is a byproduct of such a bill, would it be such a bad thing?

Who knows? We’ll just have to see how AB 656 plays out.

Associated Student Inc. will be holding a budget crisis debate series Monday through Thursday on Dexter Lawn, allowing students to voice their concerns about the economic disaster hitting the California State University system. The event may prompt an interview with Cal Poly President Baker or Provost Robert Koob regarding the feedback ASI receives from students attending the series, said recreation, parks and tourism administration sophomore Alicia Carney, who serves as ASI’s executive cabinet secretary of legislative affairs.

Dexter Lawn and the second floor of the Robert E. Kennedy Library will feature giant sandwich boards for students to write on from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every day there will be a new budget topic to provoke thoughts and written discussions on the “Walls of Concern.”

A major topic of concern students have regarding the budget are the professors’ mandatory furlough days.

“Since the teachers took a 10 percent pay cut, they also were supposed to decrease our workload by 10 percent so we aren’t learning everything that we should learn in a quarter. So we are losing out on academic material,” electrical engineering senior Tim Brown said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the “vent tent” will be set up on the lawn. Students can stop in from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to talk with an ASI member about how the budget crisis is affecting them. Students will also have the opportunity to write down a question concerning the budget crisis on a whiteboard. ASI members will take a picture of the student, if he or she allows, and tape it up next to the question.

“We want to put a face to the problem,” Carney said. “Students are really frustrated, understandably, about what’s going on. We want to give students an opportunity to have their voices heard.”

Psychology junior Hannah Bauss is concerned about the number of classes that have been dropped this quarter and impacted classes.

“I think everyone has been affected by (the budget crisis) mostly in the sense that it’s making it even harder for me to get into classes for my major. And it’s already super hard to get into them as it is,” she said.

Students who give feedback to ASI will get a cookie on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Board of Directors and the University Union Advisory Board will hold a panel discussion on the lawn from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. to answer budget-related questions specific to individual colleges. Students are welcome to attend and ask questions about how the budget cuts will affect their department and college.

Carney said ASI is serious about giving students a forum to voice their concerns to the university.

“We want them to know how serious this is. It’s not just sacrifices; this could decide whether or not people get a higher-education degree,” she said.