| Sheila Kohanteb & Brandon Schantz |
May 2003
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| Synopsis |
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Throughout the state, thousands of students journeyed to Sacramento on March 17, 2003 to demonstrate their concerns about proposed budget cuts to the California Community Colleges. Two students from Saddleback College share their perceptions of this experience.
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Democracy Means People Power
By Sheila Kohanteb
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As a California born American citizen, I feel I have been spoiled by my freedom. In comparison to others in the world, my government promotes people to speak their minds through the system we call democracy. Democracy comes from the Greek demos, meaning people, and cracy, meaning power. This power is supposed to be set into the hands of the people, and the decisions of society should be made in accordance to the views of the masses. Like many others, the system has failed me and has faltered in its representation of the American people. My efforts have often left me distraught, feeling that regardless of my efforts, the supreme being of government always has the final say.
When I was given the opportunity to go to Sacramento and lobby on behalf of my school, I saw it as a chance to test my reservations of the system and to continue voicing my opinion.
Lobbying itself seemed to be an “on the surface” indirect act. First off, I did not get to meet with the actual assembly people or representatives – I met with their assistants. I understand that they are busy working to better our society, but when the day has been dubbed “student lobby day,” and appointments have been scheduled; I expect some one –on-one. The most effective time that I had came from the mere coincidence of sitting next to an assemblywoman on the plane. It was “person lobby” time for me to share feelings and thoughts about the unequal treatment of community colleges. I shared problems directly affecting the students of Saddleback College and the school itself. By the time the plane landed, I had made a new connection providing a new insight for this assemblywoman. In turn, she provided me with another perspective of how the system works and how it can be worked in the favor of the people.
While on the home front, in Orange County, many people have given in to thinking that Governor Gray Davis will be successful in passing his $24 a unit proposal; the talk in Sacramento is quite different. Many assembly people and representatives are in opposition of Davis’s proposal and some are even coming out with their own pieces of legislation to help aid the statewide budget crisis.
A 20,000+ person rally and student lobbies may open the people of Sacramento to the student perspective, but the position of the assembly people allows them to make their own decisions in the end. As opposed to simply living in a free society, the working students of California have chosen to utilize their freedom and power to make a change for the greater good. If the democratic system proves itself effective, the results will clearly be shown through student registration for the Fall 2003 term – hopefully we will see the student population rise.
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Student Politicians
By Brandon Schantz
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The American political system was founded on the premise that all men are created equal. Unfortunately, though, for the students of California’s Community Colleges, Governor Gray Davis has come t a different conclusion. After grabbing as much money as he could from Teacher’s Unions, he then turned around and placed the brunt of the budget crisis on the future leaders of California - the Community College Students.
Time and time again I have been asked from my fellow students, “What can we do? This attitude of hopelessness has permeated American society and has silenced large sections of the population, including students. In these past several weeks, however, things have begun to change. Students at community colleges statewide have started to take a stand for what they believe is right and have started to take advantage of the best political system available. Students have started to take back the system they once thought had excluded them.
On March 17, 2003, selected students from Saddleback College traveled to Sacramento, California to meet up with 10,000 other students from across the state. This group of students, which represented every race, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, and socio-economic background, overcame their differences in order to stand up together and form one unified voice in opposition to the injustices that were being thrust upon them.
Throughout the morning, we participated in marches and rallies through the streets of downtown Sacramento and on the steps of the capitol building. While these events were both impressive in size and organization, they were not the main focus of our trip. The greatest learning experience came when my fellow students and I attended meetings with our elected officials and their staff.
Having had previous experience in the political world, I knew what to expect at our meetings and tried to warn the other students. They still felt a little disillusioned when, at our first meeting, we sat down with an intern instead of Assembly member Patricia C. Bates.
The most productive and interesting meeting came at the end of the day. After meeting with interns and various staff members all day, our last meeting was a welcome surprise when we met in person with Senator Bill Marrow. Morrow, a Republican Senator from the thrity-eighth Senatorial District, was happy to lay out his proposed plan for the upcoming budget.
The trip, which was touted as a success by all students involved, gave us a brief yet extremely educational look into the realm of politics. I believe that all students who attended were extremely interested to learn about the day-to-day procedures of our elected officials and the amount of work and cooperation it takes to get legislation passed.
Probably the best aspect of this trip was the realization that our elected officials, in the end, are answerable to us; and the best way to effect change is to get involved and make your voice heard. It is this involvement in politics by citizens that makes this country so unique.
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Sheila Kohanteb
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Sheila is a sophomore at Saddleback College, majoring in Political Science and Anthropology. She intends to transfer to the University of California in the fall and will be deciding soon whether she will go the Berkeley or UCLA.
While at Saddleback, Sheila has been very active in college life. She is involved in the Associated Student Government Program, in Interclub Council, and is a member of the Class Action Club, the Philosophy Club, and the campus chapter of NOW, the National Organization of Women.
Sheila was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated from Capistrano Valley High School in 2001. She enjoys traveling, reading, and the beach.
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Brandon Schantz
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Brandon has attended Saddleback College for the past two years. He is a double major in Political Science and in Law & Society. He plans to attend a school on the east coast this coming fall and has a long-term goal of attending law school. In the future he plans to work in either corporate law or tax law.
Brandon has been employed as a Martial Arts Instructor, a Lifeguard, and an Intern at Salomon Smith Barney. He is currently working as a Council Executive Assistant to Councilwoman Christina Shea in the City of Irvine.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Brandon moved to Laguna Niguel, California at the age of two. He graduated from Dana Hills High School in 2001. He has been very active in college life while at Saddleback College.
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