In 1960, the California Master Plan for Higher Education promised equal access to "all who may benefit" from higher education. That promise was kept until the current state budget crisis.

Community colleges have lost approximately $330 million out of a total budget of $5 billion in the past 18 months. When deep budget cuts were proposed early in 2003, students rallied to save their educational opportunities. They organized a march on Sacramento that brought more than 10,000 students to protest on the Capitol lawn. Another 4,000 to 5,000 students held rallies in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Although these efforts reduced the extent of the loss, the California Post-Secondary Education Commission estimates that some 175,000 students are being turned away during 2003-04 because the classes they need are not available.

On March 15, students will march again in Sacramento.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget does not cut the community colleges' allocations but it redirects substantial numbers of students from the California State Universities and University of California to the community colleges that are already turning students away. Traditional entry-level community college students, many of them the first in their families to aspire to college, must compete with university-eligible students for the limited spaces available.

The League of Women Voters of the Claremont Area supports full access to higher education. We understand that it may be impossible for people in this area to travel to Sacramento to march with the students, but we can show support in another way. We encourage the community to rally behind our students by writing to our state representatives in Sacramento to let them know we want access to community colleges for all.

ELLEN TAYLOR

Action vice president, League of Women Voters, Claremont Area