The Inquirer supports the on-campus rally March 4 to protest fee hikes and budget cuts that have forced the closure of classes and drastically reduced funds for programs like EOPS, CalWORKS and Disabled Students Services.

Sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society, the rally begins at 11 a.m. in the area between the Student Union and the cafeteria.

Afterwards, SDS members will move their activities to the San Francisco Civic center to join in a larger protest event at 5 p.m.

We support the efforts of SDS to build a political movement at DVC.

A February 2009 report by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education stated that community colleges enroll most of the low-income, first-generation and Latino students in the state.

These are students who may attend classes part-time or on weekends, support families and receive financial aid, including grants and loans.

As you can see, it’s not easy to raise support for a cause from students on a commuter campus.  Witness the exodus from overcrowded DVC parking lots, Monday through Thursday, as students leave immediately after classes for jobs or other commitments.

This makes community college students a perfect target for the governor and state legislators to unleash their fee hikes and service reductions.

Community college fees went up 30 percent as of July 2008, from $20 per unit to $26 per unit.

And hundreds of students scrambled unsuccessfully to get into closed classes this semester after DVC cut about 147 classes from its spring and summer 2010 schedule because of the budget crisis.

Even now, the college is putting together a reduced fall 2010 schedule and considering the elimination of some of the less popular sports teams.

It’s time to demand an end to these cuts.

By attending the March 4 rally, we can tell those in power we will no longer let them shuffle the burden of their budget shortfalls onto the students.

And later in the month, on March 22, we can support the statewide “March in March” rally in Sacramento.

A visible and vocal student presence forces those in power to act.  We can prove we are not so easy a target by simply showing up and being seen.

If you think you can’t afford to miss a day of class to attend the Sacramento rally, just wait until you can’t afford class at all.

Contact the Inquirer editorial board at [email protected]