Had it not been for a professor who dismissed their class, Shani Ellington and Alicia Pearsall might have missed Thursday's walk-out and rally at California State University, Sacramento.

Both women are seniors at CSUS, holding down jobs and working hard to graduate, maybe as soon as next fall. They don't have much time for campus political activity, but if showing up at the library quadrangle would help convince lawmakers across town that it's wrong to raise their college fees a third time in 18 months, they were willing.

"I don't understand how those politicians think that raising our fees, which makes it longer and more expensive for us to graduate, is going to help the economy," Ellington said.

More than 400 students like Ellington and Pearsall gathered for the midday rally and, in unison, dialed cell phones to call state lawmakers. They received no promises, but staff members on the other end of the calls reassured them that their messages would be delivered.

The Sacramento State event was among several at campuses across the state Thursday to protest what will likely be the third tough year for California's public colleges and universities.

Campus leaders and organizers hope the smattering of rallies and protests marks the start of a strong campaign among California's roughly 2.7 million college students who have much at stake in this year's budget debate.

Fees are slated to rise, some by as much as 44 percent. State financial aid grants could be cut for students at public and private universities. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to reduce state support for CSU and the University of California for the third consecutive year could force college administrators to take severe steps like cutting course offerings and laying off faculty.

Schwarzenegger's bid to cancel all state funding for college outreach programs that help prepare low-income and minority students has already stirred a tremendous outcry from students, faculty and university administrators - a momentum that campus leaders hope to build on.

"How can we sit back and do nothing?" said Brent Scott, student body president at Sacramento City College. "We've got a lot riding on the outcome of this budget and we have to be heard."

Thousands of community college students from around the state are expected to rally at the Capitol Monday, hoping to reprise last year's event that drew more than 10,000 and helped persuade lawmakers to reject a proposal to double fees in favor of a more modest increase. Organizers at the two-year schools are feverishly signing up students, arranging charter bus transportation and in some cases, booking flights. They will demand that fees not rise for a second straight year.

"Governor Schwarzenegger needs to see us," said Celina Luna, a 24-year-old student at El Camino College in Torrance. "He was a community college student. He should understand that another fee increase just isn't right."

But Schwarzenegger, a graduate of Santa Monica College, might not see them. A spokesman said the governor is not scheduled to be in Sacramento Monday.

Still, Luna said, there are lawmakers to persuade.

Besides fees - which Schwarzenegger has proposed raising to $26 per unit from $18 - Luna said community college students are outraged by his plan to redirect nearly 8,000 would-be freshmen from UC and CSU to the two-year schools and waive their tuition.

"Is it fair to ask me to pay higher fees when those students will get free tuition and take up precious space in our classes?" Luna said.

A more quiet campaign is also building among graduate and professional students who face some of the steepest cost increases under Schwarzenegger's proposal.

Students at UC's schools of law, medicine, business and veterinary medicine could see their fees rise dramatically if lawmakers sign onto the governor's argument that they can afford to pay more because of their high earning power after graduation.

"That just isn't the case for many of us," said Scott Peartree, a second-year law student at UC Davis' King Hall. "Many of us want to do public interest law or work in government. This is not an issue of BMWs or Mercedes."

Peartree is working with law students at other campuses, as well as non-law graduate students at UC Davis, to organize an aggressive lobbying campaign of letters and face-to-face visits with politicians. Academic graduate students - those getting master's and doctoral degrees - might be stuck with 40 percent increases.

"Nothing works as well as making your case in person," Peartree said.

Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, the Sacramento Democrat who is chairman of the lower house's budget committee, said students should lobby hard.

"There are few things more ironic than adults making decisions about their futures without hearing their voices," he said. "I will listen carefully because one, we don't have all the answers and two, the decisions we make affect them and their opportunities in a profound way."

No final decisions have been made on the higher education budget and won't likely come until this summer, when lawmakers customarily make their deals. The CSU Board of Trustees and UC regents are also holding off on taking votes to raise fees this month, giving students some hope that their message has time to sink in with policy-makers.

Said Pearsall, the CSUS senior: "I know that school is more expensive in most other states. But isn't the low cost and access here what made California better?"