Thursday, April 15, 2004 - Dozens of East Bay high school students gave up a day of their spring break Wednesday to go to Sacramento and protest proposed cuts to university outreach programs.

"We're up here because we want access to higher education and we want the opportunity to go to college and be able to work hard for our community," said protester Ramon Rios-Parada, an 18-year-old senior at Hayward High School.

Hundreds of high school students from throughout the state, including some from Alameda County, San Diego, Long Beach and Watsonville, converged on the state capital for a rally and other events.

Rios-Parada and other protesters said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to eliminate $110 million in funding for outreach programs run by University of California and California State University would hurt students who rely on the programs for information about college, as well as academic services and assistance.

"I would be the first from my family to go to college," said Yajaira Morales, 14, a freshman at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward who participates in an outreach program called Puente, the Spanish word for "bridge." "Puente is helping me to meet my goal, but Puente helps me not just go to college but also to give back to the community."

A spokesman for the state Department of Finance could not be reached for comment, but officials have said that the governor proposed the outreach cuts to shield programs that serve UC and CSU's core educational missions from further cuts.

Besides the rally, students also planned to visit individual lawmakers, including Senate President Pro Tem John Burton; Sen. Bruce McPherson, vice president of the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education; and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, to speak against the proposed cuts.

The visit coincided with a special legislative hearing on college outreach programs, which was to include testimony from students. The day of activities began with a news conference by state Treasurer Phil Angelides, who visited schools in Oakland and throughout the state in January to encourage students to lend their voices to the political process.

Rios-Parada said he felt the students were making a difference in Sacramento.

"If we're not making a difference, then they're not listening because we're doing all we can," he said.